Osteoid osteoma of phalanx of small toe

Painful swollen toe is common, usually resulting from trauma and infection. Neoplasms of the phalanges are rare. Osteoid osteoma is a relatively common osteoblastic lesion of benign skeletal neoplasms comprising 12% of all benign tumours and occurs most commonly in the cortex of long bones, especially the femur and the tibia.(1–4) The phalanx of the toe is an uncommon location for osteoid osteoma and its preoperative diagnosis is difficult due to the unique clinical and radiological features. The features in the phalanx of the toe are soft tissue swelling and a nidus, frequently located in the cancellous bone without osteosclerosis. We present a case of a 59-year-old male with localized swelling and tenderness of 5th toe of foot but, there were no hyperaemia & local rise of temperature. There was a 2-month history of antibiotic & NSAID treatment with suspicion of soft tissue infection elsewhere. The osteoid osteoma was completely excised with open surgical technique.