title: Chondroid syringoma: a diagnosis more frequent than expected.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chondroid syringoma or mixed tumor of the skin is a rare subcutaneous tumor that may be confused with various skin lesions.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To elucidate the incidence of condroid syringomas among skin lesions that were excised under local anesthesia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The histopathologic diagnosis of 16,200 skin lesions that had been operated between 1986 and 2002 were retrospectively evaluated. The cases with condroid syringoma were histopathologically re-examined, and confirmed cases were further analyzed for preoperative diagnosis, age, gender, and lesion location.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixteen patients were found to have histopathologic diagnosis of chondroid syringoma constituting 0.098% of the excised skin lesions in this series. All of these 16 cases were misdiagnosed preoperatively. The typical presentation was a solitary skin lesion located in the head and neck region in a middle-aged male patient.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the evaluation of a middle-aged male patient with a small subcutaneous nodule in the head and neck region, chondroid syringoma should be also taken into consideration for differential diagnosis. For such a lesion, excisional biopsy without destroying aesthetic and functional structures is the preferred diagnostic approach.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Gazi University, Medical Faculty, Ankara, Turkey. ryavuzer@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Reha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yavuzer
authors.forename: Yavuz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Başterzi
authors.forename: Alper
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sari
authors.forename: Ferda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bir
authors.forename: Cem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sezer
mesh_terms: D008949:Adenoma, Pleomorphic / Q000473:pathology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013544:Sweat Gland Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*