Post Traumatic Diffuse Neurofibroma in the Foot: An Unusual Presentation

Neurofibromas are benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors that present as solitary or multiple lesions. They can present alone or as part of the disease process called neurofibromatosis type 1. The etiology behind solitary neurofibromas is still poorly understood, however, trauma has been proposed to be a possible cause.

We present a rare case of a 23-year-old male, without any known medical history, who fell and injured his left foot 3 years prior to presentation. He was treated conservatively at that time and presented to Bahrain Defence Force hospital complaining of a progressive painless swelling in his left forefoot post trauma.

The patient underwent imaging studies, which misdiagnosed the lesion as a possible lymphangioma, haemangioma, or a chronic inflammatory swelling. An excisional biopsy was taken, and the pathology specimen proved the lesion to be a diffuse neurofibroma.

Trauma may possibly be a predisposing factor behind the development of solitary diffuse neurofibromas in patients that are not known to have neurofibromatosis. Further studies should be conducted to prove whether or not trauma is a predisposing factor for the development of solitary neurofibromas.