Isolated Cervical Plexiform Neurofibroma Mimicking Hemangioma: A Rare Case Report

Neurofibromas are benign soft tissue tumors affecting young adults between the ages of 20-30 years and account for almost 5% of all soft tissue tumors.Histopathologically, they are classified as local, diffuse, and plexiform.Of these, plexiform neurofibromas (PNF) are benign tumors of the peripheral nerve that predominantly develop in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), but isolated cases of plexiform neurofibroma without any association with NF1 have also been reported in the literature.The infrequency of isolated PNF and its clinicoradiological presentation further makes it a rare and a diagnostic challenge.Here, we report the case of a 6-year-old boy who presented with gradually progressive left neck swelling which was provisionally diagnosed as a case of a vascular malformation in the preoperative period.However, it subsequently turned out to be a plexiform neurofibroma on final histopathological examination.Hence this case is being reported here for its rarity and diagnostic challenge.