Extramuscular myxoma- being aware of the aggressive looking rare lesion

Author: 
Dr. Navin Kasliwal M.S., Dr. Nilesh Chandak M.Ch and Dr. Sonika Ranganath

Extramuscular soft tissue myxomas are extremely rare with only 4 documented cases in english literature till date. Myxomas are benign connective tissue tumours of unclear histogenesis and etiology. Virchow coined the term Myxoma in 1871 while Stout defined the criteria for diagnosis in 1948. Cardiac Myxomas are the most commonly reported and researched, and surgery is the accepted treatment modality. Extra cardiac myxomas are less common and predominantly occur in the head neck region. We review the literature about soft tissue myxomas in the light of a case of an Extramuscular myxoma in a 1 yr old kid. We propose inclusion of myxomas in differential diagnosis of neck masses and recommend surgery in the form of complete excision as the primary modality for treatment in these tumors though the clinical and radiological picture is deceptive. Paucity of available literature and rarity of these tumors demands vigilant evaluation to frame guidelines for their appropriate management.

Paper No: 
3747