Tongue lesions in the pediatric population

To describe the spectrum of pediatric tongue lesions treated surgically at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center from January 1990 to December 1999.

Retrospective case-series at the pediatric hospital of a tertiary care, academic medical center.

Seventeen patients were identified. Their ages ranged from 1 to 132 months (median, 7 months). Eight lesions were located anteriorly: mucous cyst (1), polyp (1), chronic inflammatory mass (1), hamartoma (1), squamous papilloma (2), cavernous hemangioma (1), and vascular malformation (1). Four lesions were located posteriorly: teratoma (1), glial choristoma (1), osseous choristoma (1), and benign epithelial cyst (1). Finally, there were 5 diffuse lesions including macroglossia (4) and massively infiltrating congenital lymphatic malformation (1). Symptoms included respiratory distress (3) and dysarthria (3); all other children were asymptomatic.

This series revealed an interesting spectrum of rare solid tumors; compared with other large series, fewer lymphatic and vascular malformations were seen. Presenting symptoms, differential diagnosis, and surgical approach were differentiated according to lesion location.