A rare cause of median nerve compression: A fibroma originating from the tendon sheath in the carpal tunnel

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a widespread clinical condition, the cause of which is compression of the median nerve in the tunnel. For a large proportion of patients, the surgical release of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel is sufficient treatment. In some cases, the cause of this condition may be due to a mass along the median nerve path. These could be lipomas, ganglia, rarely tendon sheath origin fibromas. In such conditions, the symptoms are not alleviated by a simple release of the transverse carpal ligament; an excision of the mass may be required. Fibromas originating from the tendon sheath are rare benign tumors. When this causes compression of the median nerve, the presentation is similar to carpal tunnel syndrome. In our study, a patient developing median nerve compression due to a fibroma stemming from the tendon sheath has been presented and mass-presenting cases in literature have been reviewed.