Article

Glomus tumors are benign and rare tumors that develop through a
neuro-myo-arterial glomus. Complete surgical excision of the tumor remains the
standard intervention.
Due to the difficulty of diagnosis, management is often
late, resulting in poor quality of life. This study aimed to assess improvement
in quality of life after surgery in patients with glomus tumors. We performed a
retrospective study from 1992 to 2011 to analyze 23 glomus tumors of the upper
limbs in 22 patients. Pain was systematically the predominant symptom. Quality of
life and disability were assessed preoperatively and postoperatively using two
questionnaires in 11 patients: the Medical Outcome Study Short Form (SF-36 French
version) and the Cochin Hand Functional Disability Scale. An evaluation of the
visual analog scale (VAS) completed the study. The average age of patients was 48
years with a sex ratio of 0.28. The location of the tumor was in the fingers in
20 (87%) cases. The average delay between onset of symptoms and surgery was 8.5
years. Patients consulted an average of 2.8 practitioners. The average
preoperative VAS was 8.7, whereas it was 0.8 postoperatively. Eleven patients
were evaluated using the assessment scales, a mean of 11 years after surgery.
Pain disappeared in 10 patients (91% of cases). A limitation of physical effort
before surgery was found in five (45%) patients, while one patient (9%) had such
limitation for a long period after surgery (P=0.006). The improvement in fine
motion was also significant (P=0.03). Surgery had a positive impact on the
emotional life of three patients (27%). Discomfort arose in the social life of
four (36%) patients before surgery vs. one (9%) after surgery. Glomus tumors are
rarely diagnosed during the first visit, leading to misdiagnosis and
deterioration in quality of life, a cause of chronic pain, and limitations in
activity. The significant improvement in quality of life provided by surgery
necessitates earlier diagnosis of this tumor.
CI - Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS