Mucocele of the dorsal surface of the tongue: A case report

Abstract

Mucoceles represent one of the most common lesions of the oral cavity, developing as a result of saliva accumulation. The most frequent affected area is the lower lip, followed by floor of mouth, ventral tongue and buccal mucosa. Despite numerous reports of mucoceles originating on the ventral surface of the tongue, only scarce cases of such a lesion identified on the dorsal tongue surface have been described. In this report a mucocele developed on the dorsal tongue of a 74-year-old woman is described. Additionally a review of previously published mucoceles of the dorsal surface of the tongue is provided and discussed. A 74-year-old female patient was referred for a painless swelling on the dorsal surface of the tongue of 1 month duration. Possible clinical diagnosis included granular cell tumor and lingual thyroid gland. Proper blood testing for TSH, T3 and T4 as well as ultrasonography were requested, found to be within normal limits. An excisional biopsy was performed and tumor was removed with no intra-operative complications. Histopathological examination was consistent with a mucocele, exhibiting an amorphous material surrounded by granular connective tissue without epithelial lining on the periphery. Patient was examined on regular follow-up basis, with no signs of recurrence for the last 1 year. Mucoceles of the dorsal tongue surface represent rare clinical entities, necessitating the need for further case reports to be published in order to widen our understanding of their clinical features. Key words:Mucocele, oral cavity, tongue, minor salivary glands, oral and maxilloafcial pathology.

Rare Oral Mucous Extravasation Cyst: Case Report

“…Ranulas are mucoceles that occur in the floor of the mouth and usually involve the major salivary glands [3] . Mucocele are mostly subdivided into two categories: Mucus extravasation type (90%), and mucus retention type (10%) [4] .…”

“…In this way, a cavity is formed within the soft tissues, not surrounded by epithelial wall lining, developing a pseudocyst. The second one is caused by obstruction of the salivary duct leading to a true cyst covered by epithelium [4] .…”

“…According to some studies in the literature, there is no difference in the incidence of oral mucoceles between genders [5,6] . Lower lip is the most common site of occurrence, followed by tongue, floor of mouth (ranula), and the others oral mucosa sites [4] . Hard palate is a very rare site and a few cases were described in pediatric patients [7] .…”

“…About 75% of the lesions are smaller than 1 cm in diameter; however, rarely, the size can vary from few millimeters to several centimeters. Superficial lesions take on a bluish to translucent hue, whereas deep lesions have normal mucosal coloration and bleeding into the swelling may impart a bright red and vascular appearance [4] . The various differential diagnoses are ab¬scess, hematoma, fibroma, lipoma, hemangioma like this case, lymphangioma, sal¬ivary neoplasms, recurrent herpes, mucous pemphigoid, benign and malignant tumors of salivary gland origin, varicose vein, irritation fibroma, oral lymph-epithelial cyst, gingival cyst of the adult.…”

Abordagem cirúrgica para mucocele de tamanho atípico: relato de caso

“…A Mucocele Oral (MO) é uma lesão pseudocísticas de retenção não neoplásico, comum das glândulas salivares menores, apresenta diversos fatores etiologicos, sendo o trauma e a inflamação do ducto salivar os mais frequentes, acometendo em sua maior apresentações a mucosa interna do lábio inferior, seguido de assoalho da boca e ventre de lingua [1][2][3][4] . MO pode se desenvolver em qualquer idade e sem predileção por sexo 3,4 . Clinicamente é caracterizada como uma lesão exofítica, de aspecto nodular liso, esférico, assintomatico, de coloração que varia de azulado para translúcida e variando de 0,3 cm a 01 cm 2,3 .…”