Have you ever imagined that a hematoma can be a rare tumor?

A 30-year-old woman was unexpectedly surprised when she sprained her wrist after an acroyoga class. On her hand, a greenish-looking hematoma appeared that did not reduce, even after absolute rest and constant use of ice. That's when she sought medical help and discovered that the hematoma was actually a rare tumor.

Twisting followed by rare, slow-growing tumor

The curious medical case was reported in the journal JAMA Dermatology and it caught the attention of doctors because it was a healthy woman who, even without a family history of internal bleeding, was unable to reduce the hematoma on her hand.

When seeking medical help two years after the torsion, magnetic resonance imaging was performed to identify what could be causing the injury, which is shown in the figure below:

Source: JAMA Network

Hematoma was defined as a hardened, ill-defined plaque with a blue-green appearance. only with the

MRI that the lesion was identified as a portion of mass located on the underside of the skin of the patient's hand.

The size of the rare tumor in the 30-year-old woman's hand had the following dimensions: 1.6 cm x 0.5 cm x 2.9 cm and is known as a hemosiderotic fibrous histiocytic lipomatous tumor (TLFH).

This tumor, considered a rare neoplasm, usually appears in the ankle or foot region. However, there may be up to a 10% chance of appearing in the hands or wrists, as was the case with the patient.

The rare tumor only appeared in the scientific literature in the 2000s and, according to doctors, it forms from a secondary reaction. That is, there is the development of an inflammatory process that happens after some injury.

However, because it is a rare and recent tumor, the researchers say that more research must be done to be able to detect what triggers the formation of this tumor.

Early symptoms of cancer

The appearance of tumors can cause symptoms that, in general, are ignored by future oncology patients. So, if you identify abnormal swelling in certain regions, frequent bruises that cannot be resolved with the help of ice and excessive fatigue, seek medical help.