Congenital epulis (CE) is a rare benign tumor that arises from the gum pads of neonates especially on the anterior maxillary regions and in females. It can be obstructive and impair with feeding and respiration. We report the case of congenital epulis in a female neonate arising from both the maxillary and mandibulary areas. Diagnosis was clinically suspected before surgical resection and confirmed on histology. Recovery and follow up was uneventful and no recurrence or malignant degeneration has been noted. Introduction Congenital epulis also called congenital granular cell tumour of the newborn is a rare benign gingival cell tumor that most commonly occurs along the anterior alveolar ridges of a neonate.12345 The tumor is very rare and was described for the first time by Neumann in 1871and so is also called Neumann’s tumor.167Congenital epulis presents as a mass protruding through the mouth of a neonate; interfering with respiration and/or feeding depending on the size. The presence of this lesion in a newborn can be traumatizing to the parents.The social and esthetic problems arising from this pathology, the simplicity of diagnosis and treatment with an excellent cure rate is the reason for this case report from the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital and the first reported case in Cameroon. Case Report A 28 year old primiparous woman underwent an elective caesarian section on the 28/07/2008 for materno-fetal dystocia at 41 weeks of gestation.Past history of pregnancy was uneventful. Prenatal ultrasound was done in the first, second and third trimester and were all normal.The infant was female and the Apgar score was 8- 10- 10 at the 1st, 5th and 10th minute respectively and weighed 3400gms.Physical examination revealed two separate pedunculated gingival masses protruding and almost completely obstructing the mouth (Figure 1). The masses were irregular, multilobular and erythematous. The larger mass multilobular and arose from the right latero-anterior maxillary (5cmx3cm) alveolar ridge and the smaller was located on the right anterior mandibular alveolar ridge (2.5cmx2cm). Both were attached onto the gums through two small fibrous peduncles. The size of the masses prevented normal closure of the infant’s mouth hindering normal breast or bottle feeding. However the masses did not obstruct the nostrils so there was no respiratory distress. The bony maxillary and mandibulary structures and the tongue were all normal. No other abnormal findings were noted.
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