Striped nails beware of glomus tumor
Mrs. Hien had pain in her thumb for over 10 years, her nail had a stripe in the middle, she had been examined and taken medicine continuously for many years but it did not improve until the doctor discovered a tumor under the nail.
The woman in her 60s said the pain often occurred with her heartbeat. She had seen many specialists and had many tests done but still could not find the disease. The pain increased and tormented her every night, she had to wrap her fingers tightly to relieve the pain before she could sleep.
 |
Symptoms of subungual glomus tumor are striped nails and prolonged pain. Photo: XA |
Orthopedic specialist Nguyen Xuan Anh said that the initial examination of the patient recently showed that the nail had stripes and was deformed and bent at an angle. The sharp pain point under the nail base felt pulsating when pressed. Having performed several similar surgeries, Dr. Anh immediately thought of the possibility of a glomus tumor under the nail.
The ultrasound and MRI results were as expected. The patient only needed 10 minutes for the surgeon to remove the tumor, and his condition improved significantly. At a follow-up visit 2 days after surgery, the patient said he slept well at night and was no longer tormented by pain.
According to Dr. Xuan Anh, the tumor is often located deep under the nail base so it cannot be seen, causing sharp pain according to the heartbeat and nerve stimulation due to collision. In these cases, blood tests are normal. Imaging diagnosis byFinger MRI or finger ultrasoundcan identify the disease.
 |
Glomus tumor under the toenail. Photo: XA |
Subungual glomus is quite common, can occur in both fingers and toes. Common symptoms are sharp pain under the nail, especially when touched, nail stripes… Left for a long time, large tumors cause a lot of pain, reduce motor function. The disease has the potential to recur, but if the entire tumor is removed, the risk is less.PresentlykThere is no way to prevent it. When symptoms appear, patients should go to the right specialist early to get the tumor treated.
“The disease is not difficult to diagnose and treat, but if not examined by a musculoskeletal specialist or orthopedic traumatologist, it can be easily overlooked,” Dr. Xuan Anh shared. Diagnosing subungual glomus tumor needs to be differentiated from other diseases such as tendon sheath tumor, neuroma, subungual inflammation...
