Intraoral multifocal adult rhabdomyoma: a case report

Adult rhabdomyomas are rare, benign striated-muscle neoplasms that occur in the head and neck region. They are usually solitary, but can be multifocal. We report on clinical, radiographic and morphologic features of a rhabdomyoma in the floor of the mouth and the base of the tongue in a 65-year-old male. The patient presented with a painless mass in the right submandibular region. Clinical examination revealed diffuse enlargement of both sublingual and submandibular glands. Nasolaryngoscopy showed a hypervascular lesion on the right side of the base of the tongue. Radiological investigation showed the multilobulated aspect of the lesion, and an incisional biopsy of the submandibular tumour led to the diagnosis of adult-type rhabdomyoma. Surgery comprised of extirpation of both the sublingual and submandibular glands, as well as the lesion in the base of the tongue. Histological examination of the different lesions confirmed the diagnosis of adult-type rhabdomyoma. No recurrence has occurred in a follow-up period of 6 months. We compare this case with previous reports of adult rhabdomyomas in the literature.