CTICasesPoland Syndrome
[...]. Poland Syndrome. CTICases. Published September 11, 2026. https://cticases.com/c/23yk7
Imaging findings
An incidental finding in a 72-year-old woman. On CT the left pectoralis musculature was smaller than the right with essentially no pectoralis minor, an appearance previously reported across multiple studies as a chronic pectoral tear because muscle was still present. The breast was normally formed. The left hemithorax was subtly smaller with a tilt of the sternum, markedly thinner intercostal muscles, particularly in the lower interspaces, and an absent serratus anterior. An old bone scan buried in the record showed that the patient had been born without a left hand.
Key takeaways
Poland syndrome is much more variable than the classic teaching of complete pectoralis absence: the muscle may be underdeveloped rather than absent, the breast may be normal, other muscles compensate, and no two cases look alike. It matters less for the missing pectoralis than for the associated ipsilateral upper limb ray anomalies and possible breast hypoplasia, so finding one should prompt a look at the hand. The diagnosis here came from looking outside the chest and from declining to inherit the prior report of a chronic tear, a reminder that repeated descriptions accumulate authority they have not earned.
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