Management of congenital epulis causing feeding difficulties in an in vitro fertilized neonate: A case report

Introduction: Congenital epulis or congenital granular cell tumor is a rare benign tumor of the oral cavity presenting at birth in neonates. A slightly increased risk for congenital malformations after in vitro fertilization (IVF) persists. This condition may interfere with respiration, feeding or adequate closure of the mouth. A decisive diagnosis is made by histopathological analysis. The exact histogenesis of this lesion is still uncertain. The recommended treatment for tumor is surgical resection with no recurrences or damage to the developing dentition being reported. However, some cases have reported spontaneous regression of this tumor. Case Report: This is a case report of a 15-day-old pre-term female neonate who was in vitro fertilized and presented with a single exophytic lesion in the maxillary alveolar ridge with bleeding during feeding. The lesion was excised under local anaesthesia and confirmed by histopathological analysis as congenital epulis. The postoperative course was uneventful. Follow-up for seven months did not show recurrence. Conclusion: This is a Abhishek Kumar1, Sneha Shrestha2, Vinay Marla3 Affiliations: 1MDS, Assistant Professor, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal; 2MDS, Assistant Professor, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal; 3MDS, Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Pathology, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal. Corresponding Author: Dr. Vinay Marla, Department of Oral Pathology, Dhulikhel Hospital – Kathmandu University Hospital, Dhulikhel, Kavrepalanchowk, Nepal, 45200; Email: [email protected] Received: 28 February 2017 Accepted: 03 April 2017 Published: 24 April 2017 rare case of congenital epulis in an IVF neonate. Recognition of this entity and prompt treatment is essential for preventing any difficulties for the neonate.