Tumorous conditions of the pediatric hand and wrist: Ten-year experience of a single center

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the distribution and prevalence of pediatric hand tumors and tumor-like lesions according to age and gender. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively examined the details of hospital records of 646 patients who were operated for hand mass between January 2009 and January 2019 and whose pathological diagnosis was established in the same hospital. A total of 54 patients (18 males, 36 females; mean age 12.07 years; range, 3 month to 17 years) under 18 years of age who had been operated for the wrist or hand mass were included in the study. RESULTS: Out of 54 tumors, 53 were benign (98%) and one was malignant (2%). There were 42 soft tissue tumors (78%) and 12 bone tumors (22%). The most common soft tissue mass was ganglion cyst (n=12). Six out of 12 ganglion cysts were on the dorsal side of hand or wrist and six were on the volar side. The distribution of the tumors according to gender was not statistically significant (p=0.73). We had two recurrences: one patient with giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath and one with palmar fibromatosis. CONCLUSION: Pediatric hand/wrist masses are mostly benign tumorous conditions. The location of the pathologies may be different from the adults. Diagnosis of the tumor should be established carefully clinically and radiologically while malignant tumors should be kept in mind by both pediatricians and orthopedic surgeons.