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Case Reports
. 2022 Apr 4;19(7):4330.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19074330.

Live Intraoral Dirofilaria repens of Lower Lip Mimicking Mucocele-First Reported Case from Croatia

Ivana Skrinjar  1   2 , Vlaho Brailo  1   2 , Bozana Loncar Brzak  1 , Jelena Lozic Erent  3 , Suzana Bukovski  3   4   5 , Danica Vidovic Juras  1   2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Live Intraoral Dirofilaria repens of Lower Lip Mimicking Mucocele-First Reported Case from Croatia

Ivana Skrinjar et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Dirofilariasis is an endemic infestation in tropical and subtropical countries caused by about 40 different species. It rarely occurs in the oral cavity and is mostly presented as mucosal and submucosal nodules. Differential diagnoses include lipoma, mucocele, and pleomorphic adenoma. We report a rare case of oral dirofilariasis mimicking mucocele in a 41-year-old male patient from Croatia without an epidemiological history of travelling outside the country. He came in because of non-painful lower lip swelling that had lasted for two months. The parasite was surgically removed from the lesion. This is the first reported case of oral dirofilariasis in Croatia. It is important to point out this rare diagnosis in order to make dentists aware of the possibility of the presence of such an infestation in common lesions of the oral mucosa.

Keywords: Croatia; dirofilariasis; mucocele; oral; parasitic infestation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Wound on lower lip after surgical extraction of the parasite.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Parasite in saline in the Petri dish.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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