FOREIGN BODY ON RIGHT LATERAL BORDER OF TONGUE THAT MIMICKS VARIX: A CASE REPORT

Abstract

Foreign body impaction in the oral cavity either due to traumatic injury or iatrogenically is not uncommon. Most commonly encountered iatrogenic foreign bodies is restorative materials such as amalgam, obturation materials, broken instruments and needles. Majority of foreign bodies are impacted in tonsils, base of tongue, maxillary sinus and vallecula. However, foreign bodies impaction in the mobile tongue is rare. We present a case of unusual foreign body impaction on the right lateral border of tongue appeared as bluish mass. A 40-year-old female military personnel came to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department of 94 Armed Forces Hospital Terendak Camp complaining of bluish, painless mass on the right side of her tongue for 4 years. Excisional biopsy has been done and histopathological examination reveals foreign body impaction, likely amalgam tattoo. Amalgam tattoo can sometimes be confused with other foreign body pigmentations, being then biopsied. Once amalgam tattoos have been established, the removal of lesions is not necessary, except for esthetic reasons.