Glomus tumors are rare tumors of the arteriovenous junction that play a role in temperature regulation. They are most commonly found in the subungual finger. We present the case of a 77-year-old female with a chief complaint of a painful mass in her ulnar wrist. The differential diagnosis at the time was broad. Following a detailed history and physical exam, the etiology was believed to be that of a peripheral nerve sheath tumor. The patient was taken to the operating room for resection and biopsy of the mass. Histological evaluation confirmed that the mass was a glomus tumor. Our patient’s symptoms had completely resolved and functional status had improved to baseline by the time of her two-week postoperative clinic visit. This case report demonstrates the many complexities in the diagnosis of a glomus tumor and the important role of surgical treatment in obtaining relief from extradigital glomus tumors.

IntroductionDistal radius fractures are common, but the results and complications of treatment with early external fixation and staged open reduction internal fixation have not been previously reported.Materials and methodsPatients who received staged distal radius fracture treatment from 1/1/2008 to 12/31/2015 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham were identified. Patient, injury, and treatment characteristics, as well as complications, were collected from the medical record.ResultsThere were 50 fractures in 47 patients, with mean follow-up of 9.3 months. Thirty-eight were open and 45 were intra-articular. For definitive treatment, 41 received a volar approach and nine a dorsal approach. Twenty wrists experienced one or more complications, including two non-unions. Five patients developed infections – one Kirschner wire site infection, one external fixator (ex-fix) pin site infection, and three deep infections. All deep infections occurred in tobacco users. The rate of deep infection with volar approach was 2.4%, compared to 22.2% with dorsal approach. Ex-fix pin sites overlapped radiographically with the plate in 20 fractures, with three deep infections in this group (15%) and no deep infections in the group without overlap. None of these differences reached statistical significance.ConclusionsThis protocol results in reliable healing of complex fractures, with a 96% union rate. However, 40% sustained complications. We conclude that this protocol is useful for temporizing complex fractures but caution that the complication rate is high. Since recent literature indicates that low-grade open distal radius fractures do not require emergent debridement and that immediate internal fixation is safe, complications might be avoided by restricting this protocol to complex or physiologically unstable patients.

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