A subcutaneous tumor on the forehead of a 12-year-old child: A rare clinical presentation of a frontal mucocele

Abstract

To the Editor: A previously healthy 12-year-old boy presented with a 20-day history of an asymptomatic swelling on his forehead. In the previous 3 days, it had rapidly enlarged and he had a slight fever. Clinically, the swelling was a subcutaneous, poorly demarcated, unmovable, firm, 3.5-cm tumor without tenderness (Fig 1). Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a cyst occupying the left frontal sinus, and the surrounding bone had been eroded (Fig 2). An inflammatory change in the overlying subcutaneous fatty tissues and sinusitis of the left maxillary and anterior ethmoid sinuses were also noted.