title: Dirofilariasis involving the oral cavity: report of the first case from South America.
abstract: Oral dirofilariasis is very rare with non-specific clinical manifestations. Here, we report the case of a 65-year-old South American woman with a submucosal nodule on her right buccal mucosa. The nodule was slightly tender and painful. Differential diagnoses included mesenchymal (lipoma or fibrolipoma, solitary fibrous tumor, and neurofibroma) or glandular benign tumors (pleomorphic adenoma) with secondary infections. We performed excisional biopsy. A histopathological examination revealed a dense fibrous capsule and a single female filarial worm showing double uterus appearance, neural plaque, well-developed musculature and intestinal apparatus. Dirofilariasis was diagnosed, and the patient was followed-up for 12 months without recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
authors.forename: Laudenice Lucena
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ricardo Della
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Coletta
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
authors.forename: Larissa Cavalcanti
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Monteiro
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
authors.forename: Victor Yuri Nicolau
authors.initials: VY
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jorge Esquiche
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Leon
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo Rogério Ferreti
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Bonan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004184:Dirofilariasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology