Nail bed defect covered with labial mucosa graft after subungal glomus tumor removal.

The nail bed is an important part of the nail unit. It supports the nail plate, but does not regenerate itself. The labial mucosa and the nail bed both lack a granular layer. Because the keratinization of the nail bed can cause poor nail adhesion, harvesting graft from nonkeratinized sites is preferred. Furthermore, harvesting graft from labial mucosa is convenient in surgical approach. Therefore, the labial mucosa is more eligible for covering the nail bed defect than other graft methods. In this report, a 46-year-old female patient suffered from a subungal glomus tumor of the right fourth fingernail bed for 10 years. After the nail plate was removed, complete excision of the tumor was performed, and a labial mucosa graft was used to cover the defect. Eight months after the operation, the tumor had not reoccurred and no nail deformity was observed. This outcome demonstrates that our procedure is a good surgical option for treatment of nail bed defects.