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Facial swelling and gingival enlargement in a patient with sickle cell disease
Author(s) -
Scipio JE,
AlBayaty HF,
Murti PR,
Matthews R
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
oral diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.953
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1601-0825
pISSN - 1354-523X
DOI - 10.1034/j.1601-0825.2001.3600723a.x
Subject(s) - medicine , gingival enlargement , sickle cell anemia , hemoglobinopathy , anemia , gingival disease , pathology , cellulitis , disease , hypoxia (environmental) , hemolytic anemia , dermatology , dentistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , oxygen
Sickle cell anemia is a frequent hemoglobinopathy in the Caribbean. While vaso‐occlusion induced tissue injury in sickle cell anemia is common in various organs, orofacial lesions are rare. A 14‐year‐old Afro‐Trinidadian boy suffering from sickle cell anemia developed an acute facial swelling, mimicking facial cellulitis of dental origin, which was caused by sickle cell‐related hemorrhage. He also exhibited gingival enlargement, considered to be an outcome of repeated hemorrhagic episodes and fibrous repair. A new finding is the presence of erythrocyte‐filled intraepithelial blood vessels in the gingival epithelium. We hypothesize this phenomena is a tissue response to hypoxia that occurs in sickle cell disease.