Xanthomatous changes in case provisionally diagnosed as fibroma: a case report

Verruciform xanthoma is a hyperplastic lesion of epithelium that is an infrequently diagnosed form of localized gingival enlargement. Clinically, it mimics papilloma, or, sometimes, verrucous carcinoma. Since the latter would require early diagnosis and careful management of the relatively less malignant lesion, differentiating benign verruciform xanthoma from malignant forms of hyperplastic lesions is of paramount importance. This article describes a case of localized hyperplastic gingival enlargement that was provisionally diagnosed as fibroma based on history and clinical presentation but later, on histopathological examination, confirmed to be benign verruciform xanthoma. Both conditions require local excision, but the latter is of academic interest because it occurs more rarely than fibroma.