Definition

A very rare disorder that affects the skin and cartilage. It is marked by benign (not cancer) growths of cartilage in bones. These growths usually occur in the hands or feet, but may also occur in the skull, ribs, and spine. They may cause severely deformed bone, shortening of the arms or legs, broken bones, and other bone problems. Maffucci syndrome is also marked by hemangiomas (benign blood vessel tumors), most often in the skin. People with this syndrome have an increased risk of certain cancers, such as chondrosarcoma (cancer that forms in bone cartilage) or cancers of the ovary or liver. Maffucci syndrome is most common in young children.