Osseous choristoma in child with strong vomiting reflex

Osseous lesions within soft tissue such as the tongue are extremely rare. Here, we report an osseous choristoma on the posterior portion of the tongue in a patient with a strong vomiting reflex. The patient was an 11-year-old boy who presented with the chief complaint of swelling on the posterior portion of the tongue. A pedunculated tumor 8-mm in diameter with distinct borders was observed slightly to the right of the midline of the dorsum of the tongue and slightly anterior to the circumvallate papillae. The clinical diagnosis was a right lingual circumvallate papilla fibroma. A further examination conducted under general anesthesia in July 2012 confirmed a pedunculated and solid mass in the area of the circumvallate papillae. As these results suggested a benign tumor, the mass was resected. Histopathological findings on harvested bone and fibrous connective tissue covered with a layer of squamous cells led to a diagnosis of osteoma. At 18 months postoperatively, there were no signs of recurrence.