Odontogenic cutaneous fistula on the chin

Chien-Ho Chu¹ , Chun-Chieh Yu² , Tsai-Ching Chou¹

¹ Department of Dermatology, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
² Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

Correspondence Address:
Tsai-Ching Chou
Department of Dermatology, Cathay General Hospital, 280 Renai Road, Section 4, Taipei, Taiwan
ROC

An 82-year-old woman presented with a 6-year history of purulent discharge from the chin. Examination showed a 5 mm, bright red nodule with skin retraction on the chin that exuded pus on palpation [Figure - 1]. Skin biopsy showed granulation tissue with abscess formation. Two non-vital teeth were found in the lower oral cavity for which dental evaluation was sought. A dental X-ray revealed an ill-defined radiolucent shadow below the two retained teeth [Figure - 2]. An odontogenic cutaneous fistula was diagnosed. Following debridement of dental pulp, the fistula healed in 3 weeks.

Figure 1: (1) An bright red nodule with skin retraction on the chin,

Figures 2: (2) Ill-defined radiolucent shadow just below two retained teeth (arrow)

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Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.