HAMARTOMA

Course overview

A HAMARTOMA IS A LOCAL MALFORMATION MADE UP OF AN ABNORMAL MIXTURE OF CELLS AND TISSUE. ALTHOUGH MOST HAMARTOMAS ARE BENIGN, THEY CAUSE MORBIDITY BY VARIOUS MECHANISMS SUCH AS; INFECTION, INFARCTION, PRESSURE/OBSTRUCTION, HEMORRHAGE/ANEMIA, FRACTURE, AND NEOPLASTIC TRANSFORMATION. MOST CASES ARE ASYMPTOMATIC AND DISCOVERED INCIDENTALLY WHILE EVALUATING OTHER MEDICAL CONDITIONS. HAMARTOMAS CAUSE MORBIDITY BY VARIOUS MECHANISMS SUCH AS; INFECTION, INFARCTION, PRESSURE/OBSTRUCTION, HEMORRHAGE/ANEMIA, FRACTURE, AND NEOPLASTIC TRANSFORMATION. AVOIDING THE HIGH MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS CONDITION REQUIRES PROMPT DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION AND TREATMENT OF HAMARTOMA AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN EVALUATING AND TREATING PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.