Dermatology: Practical and Conceptual


Dermatology Practical & Conceptual

Image Letter | Dermatol Pract Concept. 2021; 11(4): e202173 1

Congenital Fibrous Hamartoma of the Tip of the 
Tongue: A Benign Entity

Ambra Di Altobrando1, Luca Casadio2, Iria Neri3 

1 AUSL della Romagna, Dermatology Unit, Ravenna, Italy.

2 Department of Pediatrics, Santa Maria delle Croci Hospital, Ravenna, Italy.

3 Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, Dermatology, University of Bologna, Italy.

Citation: Di Altobrando A, Casadio L, Neri I. Congenital fibrous hamartoma of the tip of the tongue: a beningn entity.  
Dermatol Pract Concept. 2021; 11(4): e202173. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5826/dpc.1104a73

Accepted: January 26, 2021; Published: October 2021

Copyright: ©2021 Di Altobrando et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 
License BY-NC-4.0, which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original 
authors and source are credited.

Funding: None.

Competing interests: None.

Authorship: All authors have contributed significantly to this publication.

Corresponding Author: Ambra Di Altobrando, MD, AUSL della Romagna, Dermatology Unit, Ravenna, Italy.  
Email: ambra.dialtobrando@auslromagna.it

Case Presentation

A 1-month-old second-born girl was referred to our clinic due 

to congenital lesions affecting the tongue. The baby, born at full 

term, following an uncomplicated pregnancy, was otherwise 

healthy and breastfeeding, and her family members reported 

no medical history of note. Clinical examination showed 2 

dome-shaped pearly nodules of 0.1 cm in maximum diame-

ter on the dorsal aspect of the tip of her tongue (Figure 1A). 

Dermoscopy revealed subtle, radial, linear, and comma vessels 

over a pearly background (Figure 1B). Diagnosis of congenital 

fibrous hamartomas of the tip of the tongue was made.

Teaching Point

Congenital fibrous hamartoma of the tip of the tongue 

consists of 1 or 2 asymptomatic pearly or yellowish nod-

ules, not exceeding 0.5 cm in maximum diameter, located 

ventrally or dorsally at the tip of the tongue. It is not 

associated with cleft lip or palate, or with feeding prob-

lems. Dermoscopy, even if not diagnostic in this case, can 

be useful to highlight its benign features. Management 

includes regular follow-up, whereas surgical excision 

should be avoided, since the clinical picture is classic and 

stable over time [1].



2 Image Letter | Dermatol Pract Concept. 2021; 11(4): e202173

References

1. Di Altobrando et al. Congenital fibrous hamartoma of the tip 

of the tongue: A novel peculiar entity. Pediatr Dermatol. 2021; 

38(1):287-289. DOI: 10.1111/pde.14363. PMID: 33174210.

Figure 1. (A) Two dome-shaped pearly nodules on the dorsal surface of the tip of the tongue.  

(B) Dermoscopy showed subtle, radial, linear, and comma vessels over a pearly background.