Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 December 2012
There have been few reports of lingual dermoid cysts with a congenital discharging fistula. We report such a case, which mimicked lipoma on computed tomography, and we discuss relevant clinical and radiological features.
We present a case report and a review of the English language literature concerning lingual dermoid cysts either mimicking lipoma or with a congenital discharging sinus.
A 35-year-old man presented with a lingual mass associated with a congenital fistula in the midline of the tongue dorsum, which discharged abnormal secretions. Computed tomography images showed that the lesion was well defined and contained homogeneous fatty tissue giving computed tomography attenuation values of −120 Hounsfield units.
Lingual dermoid cysts may develop with a midline discharging fistula, and may exhibit radiological similarity to lipomas on computed tomography.