A very sweet 70 something year-old woman came through the clinic. She was extremely concerned that she has oral cancer. She stuck out her tongue and showed me the small bump on mid dorsal.
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| 70-year-old female with a fibroma |
She was unable to confirm a history of trauma in the area but did add that her memory had not been reliable recently.
The bump was firm on palpation. Following the oral exam, I put two things in my differential. The first one was a fibroma, because that's what this bump looked and felt like. The other one was granular cell tumor, because dorsal tongue is a frequent site of occurrence and I really wanted a good clinical picture for that tumor.
I assured the patient that I would be extremely shocked if this ended up being cancer and recommended an excisional biopsy. The biopsy results confirmed the diagnosis of a fibroma.
Fibroma:
Fibromas are extremely common, benign tumors commonly found in the oral cavity. They are believed to be an exaggerated response to trauma. The traumatic event leads to excess deposition of collagen fibers in the area resulting in a small bump or lump.
Conservative excision is the preferred form of treatment.
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