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Abstract

Thank you for your interest in our article. As you have observed, there is indeed a broad spectrum of changes that can be seen in the evolution of a mucocele, and these variations in histopathologic appearance exist within a continuum. The microscopic features of our reported cases exhibit a striking similarity to papillary synovial metaplasia seen in association with implants, prostheses, and traumatized skin. This similarity had not been pointed out previously. Therefore, regardless of what terminology one prefers, we believe this unusual variant deserves to be recognized. Furthermore, drawing comparisons with entities arising in other anatomic locations may help us gain a better understanding of the processes underlying the rich variability seen in the microscopic appearance of oral mucoceles. Thank you for your interest in our article. As you have observed, there is indeed a broad spectrum of changes that can be seen in the evolution of a mucocele, and these variations in histopathologic appearance exist within a continuum. The microscopic features of our reported cases exhibit a striking similarity to papillary synovial metaplasia seen in association with implants, prostheses, and traumatized skin. This similarity had not been pointed out previously. Therefore, regardless of what terminology one prefers, we believe this unusual variant deserves to be recognized. Furthermore, drawing comparisons with entities arising in other anatomic locations may help us gain a better understanding of the processes underlying the rich variability seen in the microscopic appearance of oral mucoceles. Is papillary synovial metaplasia-like change a hitherto undescribed histologic pattern of lip mucoceles?Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology and EndodonticsVol. 109Issue 6PreviewWe were not surprised to read the recent paper “Papillary synovial metaplasia-like change in oral mucoceles: a rare and previously undescribed histopathologic variant of a common oral lesion” by Chi et al.1 We agree that florid pseudosynovial hyperplasia is rare, but we disagree about recognizing it as an unreported variation within the context of mucoceles. Chi et al. appear to have rediscovered a phenomenon reported in the literature as lip myxoglobulosis over a decade ago.2 Microscopic patterns similar to those of papillary synovial metaplasia-like change were also described by Shah3 in 2003, who studied myxoglobulosis in salivary mucoceles. Full-Text PDF