Presentation
Painless swelling of the left lateral border of the tongue.
Patient Data
Focal purple swelling of the left lateral border of the tongue suggestive of vascular lesion.
There is a small relatively well-defined hypoechoic mass of the left lateral border of the mobile tongue, highly vascularized centrally on color Doppler.
On MRI this mass measures (12 x 7 x 5 mm) and elicits an isointense signal to the normal tongue muscles on T1, and high signal intensity on T2 with progressive enhancement on postcontrast sequences. No restricted diffusion is seen.
Case Discussion
MRI features are suggestive of hemangioma of the tongue.
Tongue hemangiomas is a relatively rare benign lesion which may be the origin of functional problems during mastication, deglutition or speaking 1. The main complication is a recurrent hemorrhage 1.
Treatment depends on the size of the lesion, its location as well as the evolution stage 1.
Additional contributor: C. Boukaaba, MD