Hand Chondrosarcoma, Atypical Presentation: Case Report

Abstract

Chondrosarcoma is the third most common primary bone tumor of the hand, after myeloma and osteosarcoma, affecting mainly the proximal phalanx of the fifth finger, with a long-term clinical presentation, manifested mainly by local pain and enlargement, affecting mostly people in the fifth and sixth decades of life, with no reports of which hand is most affected. It is diagnosed by combining imaging studies in combination with the histopathological study, with magnetic resonance being the preferred paraclinical study due to its multiple benefits. The main proposed management is amputation, however lately a primarily conservative management has been advocated, with the aim of preserving the function of the affected hand, justified by the low metastatic rate of chondrosarcomas in the hand. We present the clinical case of a 76-year-old female patient who presented after a fall from her own height with a pathological fracture of the proximal phalanx of the fourth finger of the left hand. Upon questioning, the patient denied having presented clinical symptoms prior to her incident; her surgical management was decided by means of wide resection and placement of a bone graft, since the patient did not accept general anesthesia, the placement of a cadaveric cortical graft was chosen.