LAUSR

Primary lymphoma of the peripheral nerve is very rare and occurs most frequently in sciatic nerves. We describe the first patient reported in literature with a primary lymphoma in a pure sensory peripheral nerve of the upper limb. A woman in her 40s, with painful swelling and dysaesthesias in her left forearm in the past 3 months, was presented at our unit. Clinical MRI and ultrasound findings revealed a lesion that showed signs of a peripheral nerve sheath tumour. After complete excision, morpho-pathological evaluation revealed a primary B-cell lymphoma. The patient underwent radiotherapy and at the last follow-up there were no signs of residual pathology. Peripheral neuropathy may be caused by a lymphoma involving the nerve. Hand surgeons have to distinguish primary lymphoma of the peripheral nerves from schwannoma for their different clinical behaviour.