title: Plexiform neurofibroma of the submandibular salivary gland in a child.
abstract: Plexiform neurofibromas in major salivary glands are rarely described. In the literature, most reported tumours have been present in the parotid gland region. A three-year-old boy with a family history of neurofibromatosis presented with a rapidly growing left submandibular mass. The clinical diagnosis was that of a neurofibroma rather than a primary salivary gland tumour. Resection of the lesion revealed a plexiform neurofibroma involving the submandibular gland. Although these tumours have a neurogenic rather than a salivary gland origin, they must be considered in the differential diagnosis of a salivary gland lesion in a patient with a history of neurofibromatosis.
authors.affiliation: McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bourgeois
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Radhi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Elden
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gill
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018318:Neurofibroma, Plexiform / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D011859:Radiography; D013365:Submandibular Gland Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery