[Unusual course of malignant synovioma of the flexor tendon sheath of the hand].
The authors report a synovial sarcoma of the hand with an unusual case history and a favorable outcome after two years. A forty-four-year old woman suffering from uncharacteristic pain in the right hand with slightly abnormal EMG-findings for the median nerve was treated by operative release of the carpal tunnel. No unusual findings were discovered intraoperatively. The patient continued suffering from disabling pain for another year so that a second operation was performed by another surgeon. He discovered a tumor behind the median nerve which could not be removed radically because of profuse bleeding. In spite of diagnosing a sarcoma, the patient refused further surgery, however combined radio- and chemotherapy was administered for one year. The tumor was reduced in size but did not disappear. Following open biopsy and proved presence of sarcoma, the remaining tumor was removed by amputating the ulnar part of the hand. Two years following this last operation, the patient is free of local symptoms and there is no evidence of metastases.