Plexiform neurofibroma of the gingiva: Report of a rare case

Abstract

Plexiform neurofibromas are highly suggestive of neurofibromatosis type I, but they are not pathognomonic as claimed. Clinical and pathological features of a patient with solitary plexiform neurofibroma of the gingiva that manifested as a diffuse, unilateral enlargement are presented here. An excision biopsy of the lesion was performed, which underwent recurrence within six months period at the local site and assumed almost the same dimensions. The patient underwent excision again, this time extending to the uninvolved margins of the oral mucosa. The overlying mucosa was excised along with the tumour mass, allowing healing by secondary intention to take place. The patient remains uneventful after eight months of clinical follow-up. There are neither clinical findings nor personal/family history of neurofibromatosis type I or MEN III (MEN II b), so that the lesion seems to be independent of these syndromes. The gingival involvement is very rare and a perusal of English bibliography of this lesion could not reveal another report of its occurrence in the gingiva.