[A 40 year old palatal neurofibroma. A case report]

Neurofibroma is a benign peripheral nerve sheath tumour, which arises from Schwann cells and perineural fibroblasts. It is one of the most frequent tumours of neural origin and its presence is one of the clinical criteria for the diagnosis of type 1 neurofibromatosis (NF-I) also known as von Recklinghausen's disease (VRD). Oral localization is rarer showing an incidence ranging from 4 to 7% in most series of different authors. The most frequent involvement site in oral neurofibromatosis is the tongue, followed by the oral mucosa and floor of the mouth; palate and maxillary-mandibular bones are a rare localization of the disease. The aim of this article is to report a case of NF-I with a huge, quite old palatal involvement and its treatment.