Fibromatosis colli: about 02 cases

Fibromatosis colli: about 02 cases

Hassan Doulhousne^1,&, Salah Ben Elhend², Nabil Hammoune², Abdelghani El Fikri¹

¹Department of Radiology, 5^th Military Hospital, Guelmim, Morocco, ²Department of radiology, Military Hospital Avicenna, Marrakech, Morocco

^&Corresponding author
Hassan Doulhousne, Department of Radiology, 5^th Military Hospital, Guelmim, Morocco

Introduction    

Fibromatosis colli (FC) (or congenital torticollis) is a rare benign affection of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) in newborns and infants whose mechanism remains controversial. The imaging (mainly ultrasound) makes a diagnosis and follow-up. The evolution is towards spontaneous regression or under physiotherapy.

Patient and observation     

We report two observations of infants aged 8 and 12 weeks who had respectively right and left lateral cervical firm swelling, without inflammatory signs (Figure 1). Ultrasound showed fusiform and homogeneous thickening of the SCM, measuring respectively 2,6cm on the right one and 3,3cm on the left one without other associated abnormalities of neighborhood structures (Figure 2). The follow-up was ultrasonographic with spontaneous regression.

Discussion     

Fibromatosis Colli (FC) is a rare pseudotumor of the SCM whose prevalence is estimated at 0.3 - 2% with male predominance. The right side seems to be the most frequently affected (60-75%) [1]. The mechanism of occurrence remains uncertain. Many theories have been put forward, especially those related to ischemic lesions favored by intrauterine fetal malposition or related to traumas of the muscle during a difficult delivery [2, 3]. The diagnosis of FC is evoked clinically in front of lateral cervical swelling and torticollis. Ultrasound (gold exam) makes the diagnosis and eliminates the other causes of lateral cervical masses by showing the classic imaging of the fusiform thickening of the SCM. It ensures also the follow up during the evolution. The inaccessibility, the cost or the radiating nature of the other means of imaging (CT, MRI) makes that their use is not the routine [3, 4]. The evolution is towards spontaneous regression in 4 to 6 months, facilitated or accelerated by physiotherapy [3-5].

Conclusion     

Fibromatosis Colli is a relatively rare pseudotumor of newborns and infants. Diagnosis is evoked clinically. Ultrasound eliminates other causes of torticollis and makes the follow-up. The evolution is towards spontaneous regression or under physiotherapy in a few months.

Competing interests     

The authors declare no competing interest.

Authors' contributions     

All the authors have read and agreed to the final manuscript.

Figures     

Figure 1: left lateral cervical swelling with no inflammatory sign

Figure 2: ultrasound appearance of homogeneous fusiform thickening of the left SCM muscle

References     

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