Head and neck infantile myofibromatosis - a report of three cases

Infantile myofibromatosis (IM) is a proliferative disorder characterized by the development of single or multiple nodular lesions arising from cutaneo us, subcutaneous, muscular, bone or visceral structures. This proliferation may occur at any anatomical site, but in 30% of the cases it involves the head and neck. We report here three cases of head and neck IM occurring in young children and presenting as solitary lesions. The clinical heterogenei ty and the misleading histopathological appearances can make the diagnosis difficult. The treatment is surgical but the low rate of recurrence and the possibility of spontaneous tumoral regression may lead to conservative sur gery or therapeutic abstention. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.