A case of glial choristoma of the tongue treated with partial resection after long-term observation

• Published in: Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery, medicine, and pathology Vol. 35; no. 1; pp. 43 - 47
• Main Authors: Kirikoshi, Shoko, Kondo, Takahide, Yamanishi, Tadashi, Otsuki, Koichi, Fujibayashi, Emi, Oonishi-Yamamoto, Yuri, Uematsu, Setsuko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-01-2023
• Subjects: Congenital; Glial choristoma; Growth pattern; Surgical treatment; Tongue; Tongue; Growth pattern; Congenital; Surgical treatment; Glial choristoma
• ISSN: 2212-5558; 2212-5566
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajoms.2022.07.002

Glial choristoma is a developmental malformation that rarely occurs in the oral cavity. Here, we report a case of congenitally developed glial choristoma presenting as a dome-shaped mass on the dorsum of the tongue in a male neonate. To date, 26 cases of glial choristoma of the tongue have been reported in the English literature. Early total excision was performed in most of the reported cases. In the present case, however, we chose a wait-and-see approach as no difficulties were observed in breathing or feeding. Consecutive MRI examinations showed that the lesion had slightly increased in size for the first year; then, the growth of the lesion stopped. We performed a partial removal of the mass when the patient was 8-years-old as he had been experiencing articulatory problems. During the first year after surgery, no postoperative complications or re-growth of the mass were observed. The clinical course of the present case warrants reconsideration of the optimal timing and procedure of the standard surgical treatment of this lesion. Thus, we propose a new option for the treatment of congenital glial choristoma of the tongue: a wait-and-see approach followed by partial dissection, unless problems in breathing and/or feeding occur during infancy.