Traumatic neuroma after torticollis surgery: a rare occurrence

Abstract

We report a 15 years old girl who admitted to our hospital with signs of recurrent torticollis after two failed operations and consistent pain at the side of surgery. The past operations were performed at 1 and 6 years of age and she has been suffering pain from previous incisions with neck movements. At physical examination, the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle behaved like a fibrous band, restricting the neck movements and resulting in pain. The operation was indicated for the fibrotic SCM. At operation two separate incisions were performed on each end of the SCM to remove all of the fibrotic muscle. The histopathological examination demonstrated a traumatic neuroma which respectively correlates with the pain symptoms. The patient discharged on the second postoperative day and physiotherapy was started. The patient is symptom free one year after the surgery. This case demonstrates a rare occurrence of traumatic neuroma after torticollis surgery, which can manifest with pain.

Keywords: neuroma, torticollis, trauma