Giant epidermoid cyst of the floor of mouth

Abstract

Dermoid cysts are frequently used to describe three closely related histologic cysts; the dermoid, epidermoid and teratoma, which are rare findings in the floor of the mouth. Bultin in 1885 was the first to report a case [1]. New and Erish in 1937 studied a series of 1,495 cases of dermoid cysts and only 24 (1.6% of cases) of them were in the floor of the mouth [2]. Katz (1974) reviewed literature and reported 1.8% cases of dermoids to arise from the floor of the mouth [3]. Among dermoid cysts, epidermoid cysts of the floor of the mouth are still rare, and King in 1994 among 198 cases of dermoid cysts in the region described 108 cases of dermoids itself, 32 of epidermoid and 7 teratomas [4]. We report a giant recurrent epidermoid cyst located in the midline of the floor of the mouth and a novel surgical approach to ensure complete excision because of its recurrent status.