DESMOID TUMORS ARE uncommon fibroblastic proliferative lesions usually
occurring in the abdominal wall of adults. We report an unusual case
of such a tumor presenting as a rapidly growing cervical paraspinous m
ass in a 19-month-old girl. After surgical resection without adjuvant
therapy, the child is recurrence free after 17 months. The primary tre
atment of these lesions is surgical resection. We found magnetic reson
ance imaging to be the best imaging method for evaluation, because it
was able to distinguish the tumor from the surrounding muscle. Careful
postoperative surveillance is warranted, because these tumors have a
high rate of recurrence. Although rare, desmoid tumor should be consid
ered in the differential diagnosis of a paraspinous soft tissue tumor
in a pediatric patient.