Management of oral mucocele: a case report

The Mucocele or Mucus retention phenomenon is a salivary gland lesion of traumatic origin, formed when the main duct of a minor salivary gland is torn with subsequent extravasation of the mucus into the fibrous connective tissue so that a cyst like cavity is produced. The wall of this cavity is formed by compressed bundles of collagen fibrils and it is filled with mucin. Mucoceles are generally characterized by swollen nodular lesions preferentially located on the lower lip and differ from the so-called ranulas, which are lesions located on the floor of the mouth and related to the sublingual or sub mandibular glands. The common sites are on the mucosal aspect of the lower lip, particularly in patients with a deep overbite and lip bite habit, and in the buccal mucosa posteriorly where an upper wisdom tooth is erupting buccally. Typically the patient presents with a history of recurrent swelling that develops over days or weeks, ruptures and then recurs after a few weeks. They may have a soft consistency, bluish, and transparent cystic swelling. The treatment of choice is surgical removal of the mucocele. Diagnosis is mainly clinical due to its pathognomonic presentation. We report a case of mucocele in child treated by conventional surgical excision.