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Published on: November 5, 2019
Facial swelling and gingival enlargement in a patient with sickle cell disease
J E Scipio1, H F Al-Bayaty, P R Murti
1School of Dentistry, The University of the West Indies, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Champs Fleurs, Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies.
Abstract:
Sickle cell anemia is a frequent hemoglobinopathy in the Caribbean. While vaso-occlusion induced tissue injury in sickle cell anemia is common in various organs, orofacial lesions are rare. A 14-year-old Afro-Trinidadian boy suffering from sickle cell anemia developed an acute facial swelling, mimicking facial cellulitis of dental origin, which was caused by sickle cell-related hemorrhage. He also exhibited gingival enlargement, considered to be an outcome of repeated hemorrhagic episodes and fibrous repair. A new finding is the presence of erythrocyte-filled intraepithelial blood vessels in the gingival epithelium. We hypothesize this phenomena is a tissue response to hypoxia that occurs in sickle cell disease.
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