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Matthew J. Heinz [1] and Scott M. Peters [2] and Salvatore M. Caruana [3] and Angela J. Yoon [2]
Academic Editor: Abrão Rapoport
1, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, New York, USA, columbia.edu
2, Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA, columbia.edu
3, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA, columbia.edu
Received May 8, 2017; Accepted Sep 27, 2017
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
1. Introduction
Osseous lesions of the tongue are an extremely rare benign entity, of which there have only been 71 documented cases [1–4]. Initially referred to as lingual osteomas, these lesions have since been reclassified as osseous choristomas [1]. This change in terminology reflects the current opinion that these are not true neoplasms but rather growths of normal tissue at an abnormal location. Lingual osseous choristomas appear clinically as exophytic masses of the tongue, and they are treated by surgical excision [1]. Herein, we present the case of a 21-year-old female with an osseous choristoma of her tongue base. Of the cases of lingual osseous choristoma reported in the literature, the tongue base has only been involved in four additional cases [1, 3–6].
2. Case Presentation
A 21-year-old female was referred to the ENT department at Columbia University Medical Center for a “bothersome” lesion of her tongue. The patient’s medical history was noncontributory; however, she did report that she was a current everyday smoker. No history of intraoral trauma was reported.
Fiberoptic examination revealed a pedunculated, smooth, dome-shaped mass of the tongue base. The mass measured approximately 4 to 5 mm in size and was located right...