A 57-year-old man, first seen in June, 1952, complained of thick white areas, of eight years' duration, about the left oral commissure. There was no discomfort. The process gradually extended peripherally, and at the same time changes in the mucosa of the cheeks and lower lip were noted. He had contracted syphilis in 1917 and had received treatment in 1937 and in 1949. He was a cigar smoker and usually held the cigar on the left side of his mouth.
The white thickened plaques involved the buccal mucosa, hard palate, and lower lip; a similar process was noticeable on the skin about the left oral commissure. On several occasions white thick eroded plaques on the buccal mucosa and lip were removed electrosurgically. Treatment otherwise was limited to a course of chloroquine, which had no effect on the lesions. During recent years he has presented numerous vague complaints