Dystrophy of the Great Toenail by Subungual Exostosis and Hyperostosis: Three Case Reports with Different Clinical Presentations

Clinical diagnosis and treatment of subungual exostosis in children

OBJECTIVE

To analyze and summarize the clinical characteristics and treatment effects for subungual exostosis in children.

METHODS

Clinical data for children with subungual exostosis treated in our department from January 2008 to September 2022 were evaluated.

RESULTS

Forty children with subungual exostosis were evaluated, comprising 31 boys (77.5%) and 9 girls (22.5%) with a median age of 9 years (4-17 years). The median disease course was 6 months (1-48 months). Seven patients (17.5%) had definite trauma history and 5 (12.5%) had infection. The toe or finger nail appearance was abnormal in 36 patients and normal in 4 patients. Twenty-seven patients (67.5%) had pain when wearing shoes and walking, and 25 (62.5%) had toenail tenderness. The lesions were located in the distal phalanxes of the toes in 37 patients (92.5%), with 14 patients affected on the left side and 23 on the right side. Twenty-two patients had lesions in the great toe, 6 in the second toe, 6 in the third toe, and 3 in the fourth toe. The lesions in the other 3 patients (7.5%) were located in the distal phalanxes of the fingers, with 2 patients affected in the second finger and 1 in the third finger. Regarding the relationship between lesion location and nail bed, 4 patients were type I, 21 were type II, and 15 were type III. All 40 patients received surgical treatment, with nail removal in 15. The median maximum lesion diameter was 1.0 cm (0.8-2 cm), median operation time was 25 min (20-45 min), median blood loss was 1 ml (1-2 ml), and median postoperative hospital stay was 2 days (1-4 days). All cases were histopathologically confirmed as subungual exostosis. The median follow-up time was 24 months (3-60 months), with normal appearance of the toe or finger nail. There were no complications in 38 patients (95.0%). Two patients (5.0%) relapsed at 3 months postoperatively and underwent a secondary operation, with no subsequent recurrence during 12 months of follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Subungual exostosis in children is a rare benign disease that often occurs in the toes. Selection of the appropriate incision and nail bed treatment based on the relationship between lesion location and nail bed is helpful for improving the treatment effect.

Subungual exostosis of the finger in an 8-year-old girl

INTRODUCTION

Subungual exostosis (SE) is a relatively uncommon benign bone tumor that occurs in the distal phalanges of the toes or fingers.

CASE PRESENTATION

An 8-year-old girl presented for treatment of an acquired mass on the distal right index finger. The patient was preoperatively diagnosed with a benign bone tumor. Surgical resection of the distal right index finger mass was performed under general anesthesia, and histological examination of the resected tissue supported a diagnosis of SE of the right index finger. The surgical outcome was good, with no surgical site infection. Throughout 15 months of follow-up, the patient was asymptomatic with no recurrence.

CONCLUSION

Surgical resection of a mass on the distal right index finger resulted in absence of recurrence during 15 months of follow-up. SE is a benign and uncommon lesion that is infrequently encountered by physicians. This infrequent occurrence may result in delays in diagnosis and treatment. Complete excision of the lesion and careful separation from underlying nail bed structures results in total resolution of the lesion, while providing the lowest risk of recurrence.

Subungual Exostosis: High-Resolution Ultrasound Findings

Subungual exostosis is a rare solitary benign osteocartilaginous tumor that arises from the tuft of the distal phalanx beneath the nail. Because of its multiple clinical presentations, it is commonly underdiagnosed, resulting in delayed diagnosis and inadequate treatment. This report provides results from a 6-year retrospective study. All patients with a sonographic diagnosis of subungual exostosis confirmed surgically were selected. The data came from a series of 19 patient cases. Only 15.7% were clinically suspected. The median age was 21 years, and 63% were females. The sonographic findings were nail dystrophy, distal onycholysis, abnormal nail incurvation, subungual space enlargement, and the presence of hyperechogenic subungual image with acoustic shadowing that continued until the phalanx surface. Sonography provides an excellent diagnostic method for subungual exostosis, with findings that are pathognomonic.

[Turrett's exostoses: about 35 casesk]

Nous rapportons à travers une étude rétrospective faite de 35 cas d’exostose sous unguéale de l’hallux dite exostose de Turrett's colligée entre 1995 et 2015 au service d’Orthopédie Traumatologie de l’Hôpital Militaire Principal d’Instruction de Tunis les résultats de la prise en charge de cette pathologie faite d’adultes jeunes d’âge moyen de 29 ans avec un sexe ratio de 1,7. Le délai moyen de consultation est de 18 mois. Ce retard de consultation est expliqué par une errance diagnostique en rapport avec une ressemblance du tableau clinique avec celui d’un ongle incarné. Le diagnostic est toujours confirmé par une radiographie de face et de profil de l’orteil intéressé. Le traitement a consisté en une exérèse radicale de l’exostose soit à travers une large fenêtre unguéale soit par un abord latéro-unguéal. L’examen anatomopathologique est systématique. Il a permis de confirmer la bénignité de l’affection dans tous les cas. La guérison a été de règle dans tous les cas avec une reprise de l’activité antérieure en 2 mois en moyenne. Aucune récidive n’a été notée.