Hair in the mouth

A 48-year-old man sought help for hair “growing” in the oral cavity. According to the patient, he noted black dots on the left side of the mouth, which subsequently grew into hairs.

He was a chronic smoker and had developed a chronic, non-healing ulcer on the left buccal mucosa, which later progressed to a tumor like growth. Biopsy revealed a poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Six weeks before the onset of his current complaints, he had undergone radical excision of the buccal mucosa, hemi-mandibulectomy, and cervical lymph node dissection followed by plastic surgery reconstruction of the region with a flap derived from the left side of chest. The patient said that he had hair on the area of chest which was shaved off before raising the flap.

Examination revealed dark, coarse, and terminal hair on the left buccal mucosa, arising from an area which differed in texture from the surrounding mucosa [Figure 1]. The hair could not be removed manually, thus ruling out the possibility of ingested hair. Dermoscopy and microscopic examination of the hair confirmed the clinical findings. Flap reconstruction using hair bearing skin is known to cause hair growth on the tongue and buccal mucosa. We are planning diode laser epilation for this patient. When performing flap reconstruction, it would be advisable to select areas free of hair.

Close

Figure 1:

Dark, coarse, and terminal hair on the left buccal mucosa.

Export to PPT