Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis (HSAN Type IV), Extremely Rare Syndrome that Can Be Easily Missed by Bone and Joint Surgeons: A Case Report

Abstract

Background: Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis is an extremely rare disorder in which injuries can often be missed by patient, parents and even by orthopedic surgeon. Pain and tenderness, on which a trauma team so much depends to make a clinical diagnosis and to decide whether to go for radiological evaluation can be misleading in this rare syndrome. So complete clinical examination still forms the corner stone to avoid misdiagnosis and pick up the rare disorders. Case Presentation: We present a 5 year old girl child, who was brought to us as a case of one and a half month old neglected trauma left leg and was diagnosed to be suffering from congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (HSAN Type IV). Conclusion: Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis is extremely rare entity, in which patients are subjected to repeated injuries which are often neglected. There is no specific treatment but patient training and parent education are key to avoid further neglect and damage.