Clinical and histopathological features of congenital epulis in a newborn submitted to laser surgery

Congenital epulis (CE) is a rare condition in newborns, whose histogenesis remains unclear. It mostly presents as a circumscribed mass in the maxilla alveolar ridge of female neonates and can interfere with their normal breathing and breastfeeding. This benign oral lesion usually appears as a pedunculated nodule covered with normal mucosa that extends from the anterior vestibular alveolar ridge up to the posterior region. There are some pathological conditions that show clinical and histopathological features similar to those of CE, such as granular cell tumor, gingival cyst of the newborn, vascular malformations and others. This case report aimed to describe the clinical and pathological features of a newborn patient with a clinical and histopathological diagnosis of CE on the right side of the maxillary alveolar ridge, treated with excision by laser surgery, with a follow-up of 5 months without any sign of recurrence.