title: Recurrent fetal rhabdomyoma of the head and neck.
abstract: We present a case of a congenital fetal rhabdomyoma which recurred after surgical excision. A review of the patient's chart, imaging studies, operative reports and histologic findings were conducted. A congenital fetal rhabdomyoma involving the head and neck region diagnosed prenatally by ultrasound and MRI was surgically excised without complications. The patient presented with recurrence of the tumor fourteen months after the initial surgery. This case report is supplemented with a review of the relevant literature on congenital fetal rhabdomyoma. This is the fifth documented case of recurrence of a fetal rhabdomyoma. Extracardiac rhabdomyomas are extremely rare benign tumors. Complete excision of these lesions is curative with only a handful of recurrences documented in the literature. Close follow up and a complete workup to rule out rhabdomyosarcoma is warranted in all cases of recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Texas Children's Hospital, 6701 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Tulio A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Valdez
authors.forename: Urmen
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.forename: Mark S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Volk
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000151:congenital* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012207:Rhabdomyoma / Q000151:congenital* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal