Dirofilariasis involving the oral cavity: report of the first case from South America.

Abstract

Oral dirofilariasis is very rare with non-specific clinical manifestations. Here, we report the case of a 65-year-old South American woman with a submucosal nodule on her right buccal mucosa. The nodule was slightly tender and painful. Differential diagnoses included mesenchymal (lipoma or fibrolipoma, solitary fibrous tumor, and neurofibroma) or glandular benign tumors (pleomorphic adenoma) with secondary infections. We performed excisional biopsy. A histopathological examination revealed a dense fibrous capsule and a single female filarial worm showing double uterus appearance, neural plaque, well-developed musculature and intestinal apparatus. Dirofilariasis was diagnosed, and the patient was followed-up for 12 months without recurrence.

• Authors: Laudenice Lucena Pereira, Ricardo Della Coletta, Larissa Cavalcanti Monteiro, Victor Yuri Nicolau Ferreira, Jorge Esquiche Leon, Paulo Rogério Ferreti Bonan
• Journal: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (Rev Soc Bras Med Trop) 2015 May-Jun Vol. 48 Issue 3 Pg. 361-3 ISSN: 1678-9849 [Electronic] Brazil
• PMID: 26108021 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Topics

• Aged
• Brazil (epidemiology)
• Diagnosis, Differential
• Dirofilariasis (epidemiology, pathology)
• Female
• Humans
• Mouth Diseases (epidemiology, parasitology, pathology)