Surgical management of recurrent desmoid tumor in a young male

Abstract

Desmoid tumors are rare, aggressive fibroblastic soft tissue tumors. We report a case of a 20-year-old male with recurrence of desmoid tumor of the left shoulder after initial complete resection 3 years prior. Pathology revealed fibromatosis desmoid type. After complete resection of tumor at 17-year-old, no symptoms were reported after 3 years of first resection, when he developed numbness and weakness of the left upper extremity. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated an enlarging arteriovenous malformation at the left shoulder with possible recurrence. Excision was performed, and after tissue examination evidence of recurrent fibromatosis desmoid type was found without arteriovenous malformation. Recurrence after complete resection could be as high as 70%. Early recurrence recognition is essential as tumor growth before the infiltration of the aggressive tumor makes the resection more difficult and increases surgical risk of complications.

Keywords

• Desmoid tumor
• Desmoid fibromatosis
• Desmoid recurrence
• Radical dissection