A Case Report of Glomus Tumor of the Nasal Columella

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Glomus tumor is a benign neoplasm of the normal glomus body, occurring as painful subcutaneous nodules, frequently located in the subungual area. There are few cases of facial glomus tumor reported and we report a case of glomus tumor developing on the columella of nose. METHODS: A 68-year-old female presented with a mass of the columella grown for 2 years. The nodule was 0.6 cm in diameter, red-colored without any symptoms such as pain, tenderness and cold hypersensitivity. The pathologic result after punch biopsy was hemangiopericytoma. Excision with local anesthesia was executed. RESULTS: The postoperative recovery of the patient was uneventful, Histopathological examination indicated a glomus tumor. Immunostaining revealed positivity for vimentin, actin, and negativity for desmin, CD-34. After 8 months follow up, there is neither complication nor evidence of local recurrence on clinical examination. CONCLUSION: To accomplish an accurate diagnosis of glomus tumor, the histopathological examination is essential together with immunochemical studies. The differential diagnosis include hemangioma, lipoma, epidermal inclusion cyst, dermoid cyst and arteriovenous malformation in this region. We report a case of glomus tumor on the face with uncommon clinical features.