A Case of Osteoma of the Tongue

Kim, Sang Chul; Kim, Seung Beom; Kim, Jeong Hoon; Park, See Young

Abstract

Lingual osseous lesion can be classified as one of three types: osteoma, chondroma and osteochondroma. Osteoma is a benign neoplasms consisting of mature normal osseous tissue. Osseous growths within the oral cavity, but it is especially rare to find it in the tongue. The majority of the lesions occur in the posterior third of the tongue at or in close proximity to the foramen cecum and the circumvallate papillae. Clinically, tongue osteomas are benign, slow- growing tumors made up of densely sclerotic, well-formed bone. Symptoms include foreign body sensation, dysphagia, nausea, and choking. However, most patients tend to be asymptomatic, and histologic studies can confirm the diagnosis. Treatment of the oral osteoma is by surgical excision, preferably by a transoral approach. This should give complete resolution and there were rare recurrences with good prognosis. Recently, we experienced a 25 year old woman with asymptomatic hard mass on the base of the tongue. A surgical resection was performed and pathologic analysis confirmed tongue osteoma for the patient. Now we report this case with a review of literature.