We report a case of idiopathic midline destructive disease in a 57-year-old
man. The patient had a non-specific histological pattern in biopsies obtai
ned from the nose and upper lip, characterized by a granulomatous reaction
with progressive destruction of the tissues. The patient's general medical
history was non-contributory. Clinical and laboratory data did not support
any feasible etiology for this destructive process. The patient was treated
with prednisone until the discovery of type II diabetes mellitus (never di
agnosed before) and was then in turn treated only with oral antidiabetic th
erapy, Follow-up controls revealed progressive reduction of the symptoms an
d of the nasal and lip lesions and total remission of symptoms up to 2 year
s after the onset of the disease. We discuss the diagnostic and subsequent
therapeutic problems in the management of the midline necrotizing lesions.