Association of Surgeons of East Africa and College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa
Doi
Abstract
Background: Glomus tumours of the hand are uncommon intriguing tumours
which cause significant morbidity. Few reports have documented the
epidemiology and presentation in the West African subregion. The aim of
this review is to identify the common baseline demographics, the
presentation, evaluation, diagnosis and treatment outcome of glomus
tumours of the hand in Lagos, Nigeria Methods: A 10 year retrospective
review of the records of all patients seen with histopathologically
diagnosed glomus tumor of the hand at the Lagos University teaching
hospital was carried out noting the biodata, demographics, method of
presentation and treatment of this condition. Results: 11 patients were
seen over the study period .There were nine females and 2 males seen.
The mean age of the patients was 41 years. The symptoms had been on for
between 3 and 40 months .All patients seen had a positive Love test.
Only one patient had associated bony erosion. All had complete excision
with no recurrence at 6 months Conclusion: Glomus tumor of the hand is
an uncommon tumour often occurring in adult women. Clinical test (Love
“test”) will correctly identify the diagnosis. Surgical
treatment was curative in all our cases. High index of suspicion is
needed to make earlier diagnosis