Benign Orofacial Vascular Anomalies: Review of 47 Cases in Enugu, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: A study of oral vascular anomalies has not been conducted in Nigeria to provide baseline data for comparison with reports  in the literature. 

Aims: To study the prevalence and distribution of benign orofacial vascular anomalies at a tertiary hospital in Enugu.   

Materials and Methods: This is a 10-year retrospective observational study of consecutive patients with orofacial vascular anomalies,  diagnosed by histology. The clinic-pathologic information was obtained from records archived in the department, and descriptive analysis  was used to determine the frequency, tables for categorical variables, and a Chi-square test to determine the statistical  significance.

Result: There were 47 cases of benign vascular anomalies out of 897 orofacial lesions giving a prevalence of 5.2%. There  were 35.4% (17) male and 64.6% (31) female patients. The mean age in this series was 37.4 ± 19.8 (range: 1 to 76 years). Pyogenic  granuloma was the most common vascular lesion 78.7% (37), followed by hemangioma 14.9% (7) and lymphangioma 6.4% (3). The  gingiva was the most frequent site of oral occurrence 65.9% (31), especially maxillary gingivae 48.9% (23). The type of orofacial vascular  anomalies was significantly associated with the anatomical site of occurrence, P = 0.00. The mean ages for the occurrence of pyogenic granuloma, hemangioma, and lymphangioma were 37.7 ± 18.3, 50.7 ± 16.9 years, and 3.3 ± 3.2 years, respectively. Pain was a frequent  occurrence in 36.2% (17) of anomalies. 

Conclusion: Oral vascular anomalies predominantly presented as pyogenic granuloma on the  gingivae, while oral hemangioma was observed in adults, and lymphangioma was infrequent.