Clinical and Histological Analysis of Oral Mucocele

Abstract

Received April 24, 2013 Revised May 15, 2013 Accepted May 16, 2013 Address for correspondence Myoung-Su Choi, MD Department of OtorhinolaryngologyHead & Neck Surgery, Collage of Medicine, Eulji University, 1306 Dunsan 2-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon 302-799, Korea Tel +82-42-611-3133 Fax +82-42-611-3136 E-mail mschoi@eulji.ac.kr Background and ObjectivesZZMucoceles usually occur as asymptomatic, dome-shaped, translucent cysts in the lower lip and oral cavity containing mucin. Mucoceles are usually associated with the minor salivary glands and are classified histologically into the extravasation type and the retention type. The objective of the present study was to establish the prevalence of these lesions according to age, gender, histologic type, and site of occurrence. Subjects and MethodZZWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records from January 2008 to February 2013 pertaining to age, sex, clinical history, and other findings of 52 patients who underwent operation and confirmed as mucocele histologically. We re-evaluated all mucocele cases by an experienced pathologist. ResultsZZOf the 52 cases analyzed, 32 (61.5%) were females and 20 (38.5%) were males. Age ranged from 2 to 77 years (mean age 20.6 years), with 78.8% occurring between the ages of 0 and 30 years with peak incidences in the twenties for female patients and in the thirties for male (34%). There was a more predominance among women (61.5%). The lower lip was the site most frequently affected by the lesions (59.6%), whereas the lowest prevalence was observed for the soft palate (2%), and buccal mucosa (2%). Tongue (15.4%) and floor of mouth (21.2%) were not uncommonly affected sites. Histologically mucous extravasation type (96.2%) was more predominant than the retention type (3.8%). ConclusionZZIn this study, mucocele was found predominant in younger age groups, with the lower lip being the most frequently affected site. Histologically, the mucus extravasation type was the most common. Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg 2013;56:359-64