title: An unusual cause of intractable heel pain.
abstract: We report a case of severe heel pain that did not respond to noninvasive measures. Magnetic resonance imaging scans revealed a soft tissue mass that after complete surgical excision was found to be an epidermal cyst. The patient experienced full resolution of the symptoms after excision of the epidermal cyst. To our knowledge, intractable heel pain due to an epidermal cyst is rare. We were unable to identify a previous publication describing the presence of an epidermal cyst localized to the heel without a history of previous trauma. From our experience with the present case, we believe that clinicians should consider the possibility of an epidermal inclusion cyst and should have a low threshold for obtaining magnetic resonance imaging scans, in particular, before the initiation of invasive treatment, in the case of intractable heel pain.
authors.affiliation: Chase Farm Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghani
authors.forename: Muhammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Fazal
mesh_terms: D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D004814:Epidermal Cyst / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005534:Foot Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006365:Heel; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010148:Intractable Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D035583:Rare Diseases; D016896:Treatment Outcome