A 63-year-old woman complained of a painful lesion on her upper lip that had arisen over three months and occasionally bled, either spontaneously or when touched. Inspection revealed a hard, nodular, ulcerated mass with prominent vascular markings, pedunculated in form, on the vermilion of the lip. It was excised. Histopathological examination revealed a pyogenic granuloma (PG).
PG of the lips is very rare. Its differential diagnosis should include malignant tumors, sexually transmitted diseases, and cutaneous tuberculosis. It is recommended in the current German S3 guideline on cancer of the oral cavity that patients with any abnormal change of the oral mucosa or perioral tissue that does not improve spontaneously within two weeks should be referred to a specialist for further evaluation.
Translated from the original German by Ethan Taub, M.D.
Footnotes
Conflict of interest statement:
The authors state that they have no conflicts of interest.