CALIBER-PERSISTENT LABIAL ARTERY: SERIAL CASES WITH DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

The caliber-persistent labial artery is a common vascular anomaly, which is characterized by a major arterial branch that extends to the surface of the submucosal tissue without reducing its diameter. It occurs exclusively in the labial mucosa and its incidence is approximately 3% of the general population without significant difference between sex. The diagnosis depends on clinical evaluation with the presence of a purple pulsatile papule and can be confirmed by high-resolution color Doppler ultrasound. This type of lesion mimics other oral pathologies such as mucoceles and reactional lesions and the misdiagnosis might cause bleeding during biopsy or surgery. This vascular anomaly was reported to occur in other sites: eyes, intestine, stomach, heart, and upper and lower lip. We present 5 cases of caliber-persistent artery with clinical features and Doppler color ultrasound. One of the patients underwent surgery with arterial ligation due to aesthetics alterations.