Focal fibrous hyperplasia: A review of 193 cases

Focal fibrous hyperplasia, also known as irritation or traumatic fibroma, is a reactive, inflammatory hyperplastic lesion of the connective tissue.

The aim of this study is to perform a retrospective study of a focal fibrous hyperplasia of 18 years.

We retrospectively reviewed 193 cases of focal fibrous hyperplasia of the oral cavity from the medical and histological reports of the Department of Oral Pathology, Pernambuco University, Brazil, during the period between January 1992 and December 2009.

Data with regard to age, gender, location, size of the lesion (equal to or less than 1 cm, between 1 and 2 cm and greater than 2 cm), pain, history of trauma, treatment, length of follow-up (from diagnosis to release or last review) and recurrence, were collected.

The most commonly affected site was the buccal mucosa (n = 119, 61.7%). Almost two-thirds of the cases were concentrated from the second to the fifth decade of life. Females were more affected than men and a history of trauma was related by 90.7% of the patients. Two recurrences were notified (1.0%).

Further studies are needed on the distribution of the lesion in different ethnic and geographical populations. The influence of sex hormones on the development of focal fibrous hyperplasia must be clarified.