Recurrent congenital haemangiopericytoma in a child

A five-day-old boy was referred with a soft-tissue mass in his right upper arm. Plain radiographs and ultrasound demonstrated a lesion extending from the axilla to the elbow on the posterolateral aspect of the humerus, Open b iopsy confirmed the diagnosis of congenital haemangiopericytoma, After MRI and selective angiography, excision biopsy was carried out, but no adjuvant therapy was administered, At further examination, four years and ten month s later, he was noted to have three small nodules at the site of the origin al tumour. Excision biopsy confirmed this to be a local recurrence, althoug h the lesion was less cellular with no appreciable mitotic activity. Congen ital haemangiopericytoma is a rare cause of a soft-tissue mass in children. Most tumours are benign, and recurrence is uncommon. The treatment is cont roversial, but most centres recommend the use of adjuvant chemotherapy, com bined with complete excision, We recommend treatment with doxorubicin, Orth opaedic surgeons should be familiar with this tumour since 30% to 50% of ca ses occur in the limbs.