Case Report
Granulomatous Cheilitis: Successful Treatment of
Two Recalcitrant Cases with Combination Drug Therapy
Ambika Gupta and Harneet Singh
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Pandit B.D. Sharma UHS (PGIDS), Rohtak, Haryana, India
Correspondence should be addressed to Ambika Gupta; drambika79@redifmail.com
Received 25 June 2014; Accepted 30 September 2014; Published 15 October 2014
Academic Editor: Bhushan Kumar
Copyright © 2014 A. Gupta and H. Singh. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
Granulomatous cheilitis is a rare, idiopathic, infammatory disorder which usually afects young adults. It is characterized by
persistent, difuse, nontender, sof-to-frm swelling of one or both lips. Various treatment modalities have been suggested. In spite
of the best treatment, recurrence of the disease is very common. We report two cases of granulomatous cheilitis treated with a
combination of steroids, metronidazole, and minocycline with no signs of relapse at one-year follow-up.
1. Introduction
Orofacial granulomatosis comprises a group of diseases
characterized by noncaseating granulomatous infammation
afecting the sof tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region
[1]. Te term, introduced by Wiesenfeld et al. in 1985,
includes Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome and cheilitis gran-
ulomatosa of Miescher [2]. Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome
manifest itself as a triad of recurrent or persistent lip or
facial swelling, recurrent, partial, or complete facial paral-
ysis, and fssured tongue [3, 4]. Cheilitis granulomatosa of
Miescher is characterized by swelling restricted to the lips [5].
Granulomatous cheilitis is considered a monosymptomatic
form of Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome by some clinicians.
Te etiology of this disease is unclear, but the condition has
been linked to an abnormal immune reaction. Te available
therapeutic options provide only limited and temporary
remissions. Two cases of granulomatous cheilitis are being
reported, who showed an excellent and sustained response
to combination of intralesional steroids, metronidazole, and
minocycline.
2. Case 1
A 17-year-old female reported in an outdoor department
of Oral Medicine at Government Dental College, Rohtak,
with a 2-year history of persistent asymptomatic swelling
of the upper lip and occasional gingival swelling (Figure 1).
Her medical history was noncontributory. Tere was no
history suggestive of abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fatigue,
weight loss, or any other gastrointestinal disorders. Systemic
examination did not reveal any abnormalities. Examination
revealed a nontender, difuse, frm swelling of the upper
lip. Te surrounding facial skin showed difuse erythema-
tous swelling. Te surface of the lip was smooth with no
signs of scabs, bleeding, or exudation. No fssuring of the
tongue, oral ulcers, or hypertrophy of the oral mucosa
was noticed. Tere was no palsy of facial muscles. Te
patient had received intralesional triamcinolone injections
in the past with temporary remissions and recurrences of
the swelling. A chest radiograph, complete haemogram, ery-
throcyte sedimentation rate, serum folate, iron, and vitamin
B12 levels, serum levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme,
were ordered, which were in normal range. Te tuberculin
skin test for tuberculosis was negative. Ultrasonography of
the upper lip revealed a mildly increased vascularity in the
region. Te diagnosis of cheilitis granulomatosa was con-
frmed on a histopathological examination, which revealed
Langhans type giant cells, epithelioid cells, lymphocytes, and
few neutrophils (Figure 2). We decided to treat her with a
combination of intralesional weekly injections of triamci-
nolone acetonide 10 mg/mL in the upper lip for 4 weeks,
along with oral metronidazole 400 mg three times a day
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Case Reports in Dermatological Medicine
Volume 2014, Article ID 509262, 4 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/509262