Glomus Tumour of the Hand

Abstract

We report a series of 18 patients with pain in the thumb or finger tips who were diagnosed as having glomus tumour. Fourteen patients were found to have histopathologically proven glomus tumours, one had a neuroma and three had haemangioma. The duration of symptoms before treatment averaged 1.9 years. Cold-sensitivity and Hildreth's tests have sensitivities of 100% and 77.4% respectively and specificity of 100%. Love's pin test had a sensitivity of 100%. Love's and Hildreth's tests showed 78% accuracy, whereas the cold-sensitivity test was 100% accurate. We used a double-tourniquet technique during dissection and excision of the tumour. None of our patients experienced recurrence of symptoms during the post-operative follow up.

Glomus Tumor: An Anomalous Cause of Pain in the Finger

“…3 Other features commonly seen are nail deformity, bluish discoloration, and a palpable nodule. Diagnosis of glomus tumor is mainly clinical.…”

“…Magnetic resonance imaging showed a well-defined oval enhancing lesion measuring 7 × 5 × 5 mm within the soft tissue of the dorsal and ulnar aspect of the terminal phalanx of the middle finger (subungual region). The lesion was isointense to muscles on T1 and hyperintense on T2 and Proton density fat CASE REPORT 1 Senior Resident, 2 Associate Professor, 3 Professor…”

Acral manifestations of soft tissue tumors

“…The classic presentation of a glomus tumor consists of a triad of spontaneous pain (80%), point tenderness (100%), and cold sensitivity (63%). 39 Several clinical tests have emerged as sensitive and specific tools for diagnosing glomus tumor, including a pin test, 40 a cold-sensitivity test, 39 and the so-named Hildreth test. 41 These tests assess levels of pain in response to external stimuli such as direct pressure, cold temperature, or alteration of blood flow.…”

Intracephalic glomus tumor presenting as peripheral neuropathic pain and literature review

“…An abnormal chromosome 1p21-p22 has been identified and it is associated with damage to a protein called glomulin [24] . Earlier reports have shown families with inherited glomuvenous malformations (GVMs) with linkage to chromosome 9p21, the mutation caused ligand independent activation of an endothelial cell-specific receptor tyrosine kinase [25] . These malformations are caused by the novel gene that may act to regulate angiogenesis.…”

“…The Love's pin test is positive, when the patient experiences severe pain and the pain is reduced when the skin overlying the tumor is pressed with a pinhead, or ballpoint pen. This test was 100% sensitive and specific in one series [3,25] . The cold sensitivity test is positive when immersing the hand in cold water elicits severe pain in and around the area.…”