Unexpected diagnosis for preauricular swelling - two case reports

Abstract

Background. Preauricular swelling in children may be associated with a wide range of pathology. The history, clinical presentation and imaging features of such swellings may be non-specific. Sometimes it can be caused by underlying bone lesion.

Case reports. We report about two children who were admitted to the hospital with swelling in the preauricular region and an unexpected final diagnosis. We found aneurismal bone cyst and central giant cell granuloma, respectively.

Conclusions. Awareness of such lesions is important to avoid diagnostic errors and a potential mismanagement. These lesions are often difficult to differentiate on the basis of their radiographic features alone. A high-resolution US enables an accurate analysis of soft tissue and helps in the differential diagnosis. It also enables an accurate location of the lesion, which helps to avoid a wrong interpretation based on the clinical finding only. The CT-scan performed afterwards provides necessary information for the assessment of location, structure and size of the lesion.