Lingual tuberculosis mimicking malignant lesion: A rare manifestation of a common disease

Abstract

We report a rare case of tuberculosis (TB) of base of the tongue following pulmonary TB. Patient presented to us with chief complaints of sore throat, dysphagia, and hoarseness of voice for 20 days. Examination with 90° telescope revealed ulcerative lesion in the base of the tongue on the left side of size 0.5 cm and another lesion in the left arytenoid and inter arytenoid area extending to the false vocal cord of the left side with undermined edges along with whitish slough at the center of the ulcer. Infection of the oral cavity with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is rare, however, it should be considered among the differential diagnosis of the lesions of the oral cavity. The biopsy is necessary to confirm the diagnosis.

Keywords

• Base of tongue
• oral ulcer
• tuberculosis