Kimura's disease of the right cheek: A case report

Kimura's disease (KD), a chronic inflammatory disease of uncertain etiology, manifests as a painless subcutaneous swelling in the head and neck region that involves major salivary glands and regional lymph nodes. To date, the majority of cases of KD have been documented in Asian males aged 20-30 years. However, the number of reported cases of KD involving the oral and maxillofacial area is limited, and since the masses appear similar to cysts or benign tumors, the establishment of an accurate pre-operative diagnosis is challenging. The accurate diagnosis of KD is considered to require surgical excision followed by histopathological examination. In the current case, a 39-year-old man was admitted to hospital in October 2011 with a swelling evident on his right cheek. Surgical excision was performed, and histopathological observation was carried out. The formation of a lymphoid nodule accompanied by the vigorous proliferation of small blood vessels, eosinophilic infiltration and thickened cell walls were observed. No sign of recurrence of the mass has yet been observed, on the basis of the telephone follow-up interviews. These findings provide a novel insight useful in the diagnosis of KD in the oral and maxillofacial area.