Peripheral giant cell granuloma combined with facial hemangioma. A case report

Peripheral giant cell granuloma (PGCG) is a relatively uncommon benign tumor of the oral cavity affecting people of all ages and with no racial predilection. The etiology is still unclear but local trauma or chronic irritants may cause the development of this lesion. Hemangioma is a benign process in which there are an increased number of normal or abnormal-appearing blood vessels. In this article the clinical, radiographic and histopathologic characteristics of a patient who had a rare combination of PGCG and facial hemangioma is discussed. Surgery was the effective treatment modality for the lesion in the mandible. The characteristics of facial hemangioma and PGCG have similarities, such as the possibility of bleeding problems during surgery. As the lesion in this case was not small in size, it was not a conservative procedure. Bleeding control was established by electrocauterization. Healing was uneventful and there has been no recurrence since the surgery. A new prosthesis was fabricated for the patient. In these kinds of cases the control of bleeding must be very carefully determined and attention should be paid to the possibility of serious bleeding problems. Based on the data presented we were not able to find any correlation between the PGCG and the facial hemangioma, but new reports might have different views on the subject in the future.