Desmoid tumor complicating remobilization treatment for a chronic pain syndrome.
The criteria for recommending an operant conditioning program for a patient with chronic pain include definable pain behavior. A thorough investigation of all organic factors that may contribute to pain is usually made prior to such treatment. This report describes a patient with chronic pain and mild cognitive deficits related to a truck accident who insidiously developed an extra-abdominal desmoid tumor. Desmoid tumors, which may develop after trauma, are associated with incidental connective tissue anomalies. They can be initially mistaken for fibrocytic nodules because they have a distribution similar to that in fibromyalgia. This patient's painful tumor was diagnosed while he was participating in a remobilization program. Subsequent resection and irradiation adversely affected rehabilitation goals and reinforced the patient's conviction that all his complaints were organically based.
D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D005350:Fibroma / Q000150:complications* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009423:Nervous System Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D010148:Intractable Pain / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000150:complications*