Lymphangioma CircumscriptaA Diagnostic Dilemma

Abstract

Lymphangiomas are developmental malformations that present as benign hamartomas of lymphatic channels. They present at birth or before two years of age, with 50-70% predilection for the head and neck region and less frequently reported in the oral cavity. However, affected sites in the oral cavity include the tongue, palate, gingiva, buccal mucosa, lips and alveolar ridge. Lymphangioma of the buccal mucosa is rare, only 27 cases of lymphangioma of buccal mucosa have been reported till date, out of which seven were in children. The prognosis is good for most patients, but recurrence has also been reported in some cases. This present case is of Lymphangioma Circumscriptum in a 13-year-old child involving right buccal mucosa and lip since birth. This lesion was surgically removed under general anaesthesia and there was a recurrence of the lesion after one year of follow-up. In the literature there was no reported case of Lymphangioma Circumscriptum involving the lip of a child, so this present case was the firstreported case of Lymphangioma Circumscripta involving the lip in a child with recurrence.