Granulomatous cheilitis: a report of 6 cases and a review of the literature.
BACKGROUND
Granulomatous cheilitis (Miescher cheilitis), a condition characterized by recurrent swelling of the lips, is the most common monosymptomatic form of the Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome. The aim of this study was to study the characteristics of patients diagnosed with granulomatous cheilitis at the dermatology department of our hospital over a period of 17 years.


METHODS
We performed a descriptive study of patients diagnosed with granulomatous cheilitis at our hospital between January 1993 and January 2010.


RESULTS
The condition was diagnosed in 6 patients (4 women and 2 men), with a mean age of 49 years at the time of diagnosis. All the patients had recurrent swelling of the upper lip and 2 also had swelling in other parts of the face. The mean time from the onset of symptoms to the initial visit was approximately 16 months. There were no cases of facial palsy, and just 1 patient had a fissured tongue. None of the patients developed Crohn disease or any other granulomatous disorders during follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
Granulomatous cheilitis is a rare disease. None of the patients in our series had gastrointestinal or neurologic symptoms. Accordingly, we believe that granulomatous cheilitis is an independent orofacial granulomatous disease which most often presents without accompanying signs or symptoms.
Servicio de Dermatología, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete, Albacete, España. mlmartinezm@sescam.jccm.es
M L
ML
Martínez Martínez
J M
JM
Azaña-Defez
L J
LJ
Pérez-García
M T
MT
López-Villaescusa
M
M
Rodríguez Vázquez
C
C
Faura Berruga
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008556:Melkersson-Rosenthal Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies