title: A study of 17 patients affected with plexiform neurofibromas in upper and lower extremities: comparison between different surgical techniques.
abstract: Plexiform neurofibromas (PN) are one of the most common and severe types of neurofibroma that occur in neurofibromatosis type I. These tumours affect long portions of nerves, infiltrating the nerve and surrounding tissue thus causing significant pain, deformity and functional problems in the affected part of the body. Treatment of this variant of neurofibromas is currently surgical. The aim of this study was to analyze the surgical treatment of plexiform neurofibromas in the lower and upper extremities. The clinical pathological features of 29 neurofibromas, 12 in the upper extremities and 17 in the lower extremities, as diagnosed at the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of University "La Sapienza" in Rome from 2000 to 2007, were reviewed. We established that subtotal and total resection without functional destruction is often possible for superficial PN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Plastic Reconstructive Surgery, University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy. mariagiuseppina.onesti@uniroma1.it
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Onesti
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carella
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Spinelli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martano
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giustini
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Scuderi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018318:Neurofibroma, Plexiform / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D034941:Upper Extremity; D055815:Young Adult