Dermoscopic features of a flesh-coloured papule on the tongue

A 30-year-old male had a single asymptomatic, slow-growing lesion on the tip of the tongue for six months. He denied any prior history of trauma or surgical procedure at the site. His medical history was unremarkable. Cutaneous examination showed a solitary well-demarcated flesh-coloured, dome-shaped, smooth, firm, non-tender papule of size 4 mm × 4 mm on the tip of the tongue [Figure 1]. The dermoscopic examination under polarised mode (Heine Delta 20T, ×10 magnification) revealed a central white homogeneous area and a peripheral corona of hairpin vessels [Figure 2]. The differential diagnoses of traumatic fibroma, granular cell tumour, Heck’s disease, and angiofibroma were considered. Pathological examination showed a moderately acanthotic epidermis, a collagenous stroma with numerous dispersed dilated blood vessels and scattered fibroblasts. In addition, inflammatory cell infiltration was absent. The diagnosis of traumatic fibroma was made, and the patient was counselled about the benign nature. The white homogeneous area corresponds to the acanthotic epidermis along with dermal collagen and the hairpin vessels to the dilated papillary dermal blood vessels.

Close

Figure 1

Solitary flesh-coloured, dome-shaped, smooth papule on the tip of the tongue

Export to PPT

Close

Figure 2

The dermoscopic examination under polarized mode (Heine Delta 20T, ×10) shows a central white homogeneous area (blue arrow) and a peripheral corona of hairpin vessels (red arrow)

Export to PPT