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COMMENTARY |
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Year : 2013 | Volume
: 6
| Issue : 2 | Page : 214-215 |
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Congenital epulis: An oral surgeon's perspective
Yadavalli Guruprasad
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, AME'S Dental College Hospital and Research Centre, Raichur, Karnataka, India
Date of Web Publication | 10-Apr-2013 |
Correspondence Address: Yadavalli Guruprasad Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, AME'S Dental College Hospital and Research Centre, Raichur - 584 103, Karnataka India
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
How to cite this article: Guruprasad Y. Congenital epulis: An oral surgeon's perspective. Med J DY Patil Univ 2013;6:214-5 |
The publishing of the article "A case of congenital epulis" brings into focus of several factors like proper diagnosis and management of such kind of lesions in newborn infants. Congenital epulis can be very disturbing, especially for parents and health care professionals of neonatal care thus requiring multidisciplinary approach for managing such type of lesions. It usually appears late in utero as it is often not detected on antenatal ultrasound. [1] While the lesion is visually impressive and equally distressing, it is ultimately a benign lesion. If there is any fear of airway obstruction or difficulty with feeding, then prompt surgical treatment is necessary. [2]
Imaging in cases of congenital epulis may be important, especially for antenatal diagnosis using ultrasound; the earliest reported case was identified in a 31-week-old fetus. [3],[4] Sometimes antenatal diagnosis of such kind of lesions depends upon the size, location of the lesion and also experience of the radiologist to rule out any congenital abnormalities. The differential diagnosis of a large mass in the fetal or neonatal oral cavity should include such congenital malformations as encephalocoele, dermoid cysts or teratoma and benign and malignant neoplasms including hemangioma, lymphatic malformations, melanotic or pigmented neuroectodermal tumours of infancy and rhabdomyosarcoma. [5] Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons play a vital role in diagnosis and surgical management as one should be aware of potential airway compromise and other problems hindering postnatal care like feeding etc. When the lesion is large and interferes with feeding and breathing, the treatment is simple surgical excision under either local or general anesthesia. Complete surgical excision is treatment of choice but should not be aggressive to minimize damage to the underlying developing tooth buds.
References | | |
1. | Chindia ML, Awange DO. Congenital epulis of the newborn: A report of two cases. Br Dent J 1994;176:426-8. |
2. | McMahon MG, Mintz S. In utero diagnosis of a congenital gingival granular cell tumor and immediate postnatal surgical management. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1994;52:496-8. |
3. | Lopez de Lacalle JM, Aguirre I, Irizabal JC, Nogues A. Congenital epulis: prenatal diagnosis by ultrasound. Pediatr Radiol 2001;31:453-4.13. |
4. | Song WS, Kim JW, Kim YG, Ryu DM. A case report of congenital epulis in the fetus. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2005;63:135-7. |
5. | Merrett SJ, Crawford PJ. Congenital epulis of the newborn: A case report. Int J Paediatr Dent 2003;13:127-9. |
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