Unilateral clear hairy tongue sign

Abstract

A 53-year-old woman with history of paroxysms pain in the maxillary and mandibular right regions, with trigger zones on the nose wing and right tongue, and ipsilateral clear hairy tongue sign ( Figure 1A). Following microvascular decompression surgery targeting a trigeminal nerve emergence vascular loop 1 , there was complete relief of pain and disappearance of the sign ( Figure 1B). Hairy tongue discoloration is attributed to hypertrophy of keratinized filiform papillae that do not renew due to lack of mechanical stimulation in order to avoid pain 2 . We emphasize that pain elimination and return to normal tongue color are indicative signs of therapeutic success. acknowledgment:The authors are grateful to Péricles Maranhão Neto for his technical assistance.