Common swelling of the dorsal thoracic wall brings an unexpected finding: elastofibroma dorsi

Abstract

Elastofibroma is a rare benign, soft-tissue slow-growing tumor seen predominantly in elderly females. We present such a case in a 46-year-old female. She presented with gradually increasing soft tissue swelling of 8×6 cm in the right inferior subscapular region. MRI showed a large intramuscular lesion with atypia. She underwent excisional biopsy and the histopathology and immunochemistry showed elastofibroma. We present this rare case to emphasize the important role of the diagnostic tools. A definitive diagnosis helps to avoid unnecessary wide and radical resection.

Keywords

• Benign
• tumor
• thoracic wall
• surgery
• MRI