Pyogenic Granuloma in the Tongue in a Five Year Old: A Case Report.

Pyogenic granuloma, also called lobular capillary hemangioma, is a benign vascular lesion of the skin and mucous membranes. While the majority of pyogenic granulomas in the oral cavity involve the gingiva, they also infrequently present at other sites including lips, oral mucosa, palate, and tongue. We report a case of a pyogenic granuloma of the tongue in a five-year old female patient.

Exploiting endogenous fibrocartilage stem cells to regenerate cartilage and repair joint injury.

Tissue regeneration using stem cell-based transplantation faces many hurdles. Alternatively, therapeutically exploiting endogenous stem cells to regenerate injured or diseased tissue may circumvent these challenges. Here we show resident fibrocartilage stem cells (FCSCs) can be used to regenerate and repair cartilage. We identify FCSCs residing within the superficial zone niche in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) condyle. A single FCSC spontaneously generates a cartilage anlage, remodels into bone and organizes a haematopoietic microenvironment. Wnt signals deplete the reservoir of FCSCs and cause cartilage degeneration. We also show that intra-articular treatment with the Wnt inhibitor sclerostin sustains the FCSC pool and regenerates cartilage in a TMJ injury model. We demonstrate the promise of exploiting resident FCSCs as a regenerative therapeutic strategy to substitute cell transplantation that could be beneficial for patients suffering from fibrocartilage injury and disease. These data prompt the examination of utilizing this strategy for other musculoskeletal tissues.

Current Role of Carnoy's Solution in Treating Keratocystic Odontogenic Tumors.

PURPOSE: To understand the frequency of use of Carnoy's solution, as a means of chemical curettage, for treating the keratocystic odontogenic tumor (KCOT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A Web-based survey was distributed by e-mail to 6,880 members listed in the 2013 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons directory. RESULTS: Eight hundred nine participants across the United States responded to the survey (12% response rate). The most common procedures performed to definitively treat a KCOT were enucleation plus mechanical curettage (curette with or without peripheral ostectomy; 66%). Of the survey participants, 198 (25%) currently use Carnoy's solution, 111 (56%) of whom are using the solution with chloroform and 83 (42%) are using it without chloroform. CONCLUSION: Carnoy's solution remains a common method of chemical curettage for the definitive treatment of the KCOT. Carnoy's solution with and without chloroform is being used for chemical cautery.

Pregnancy Tumor in a 31-Year-Old Female with a Facial Port-Wine Stain.

Pyogenic granuloma is a type of inflammatory hyperplasia often seen in the oral cavity and occurs in response to stimuli such as local irritants and hormonal factors. Pyogenic granulomas associated with pregnancy are referred to as pregnancy tumors. This report describes the presentation and surgical management of a large pregnancy tumor occurring in a patient with an overlying isolated facial port-wine stain.

Oral ulcerations as a sequela of tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil therapy.

Medication-induced ulcerative stomatitis can be a complication of immunosuppressive therapy in a post-transplant patient. A 54-year-old African-American female patient presented with significant, recalcitrant oral ulcers 5 months after renal transplant as a result of mucosal toxicity and severe leucopenia caused by her immunosuppressive maintenance regimen of tacrolimus (US Pharmacopeia, Rockville, MD) and mycophenolate mofetil (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA). The patient was also prescribed fluconazole as an antifungal, which likely contributed to the patient's increase in tacrolimus blood levels. Altering the medication dosages ultimately reduced blood tacrolimus levels, allowing for resolution of her oral ulcers. This report indicates that medication-induced oral ulcerations are a potential sequela of post-transplant immunosuppressive therapy.