Abstract
SummaryThe nasolabial cyst is an uncommon non-odontogenic cyst that develops in the lower region of the nasal ala; its pathogenesis is uncertain. This lesion grows slowly and measures between 1.5 and 3 cm; it is characterized clinically by a floating tumefaction in the nasolabial sulcus, which elevates the upper lip. The diagnosis is based on the clinical findings and, if necessary, image exams. This paper reports a case of a white 48-year-old Brazilian female patient that presented a firm tumor in the left ala of the nose; the clinical features suggested a nasolabial cyst. CT scans revealed an expanding tumor with soft tissue density located in the left ala of the nose. It measured 1.2 cm in diameter and had a clear and well-defined outline; its homogeneous density was about 50 HU. MR images revealed a circular lesion located in soft tissue; T1 and T2 weighted signals were hyperintense, as were images after fat suppression. The diagnosis was a nasolabial cyst, which was confirmed by histopathology after surgery.
Highlights
Zuckerkandl originally described Nasolabial cysts in 1882; the first case itself was reported by McBride in 1892
Since 1941, various other names had been used for this lesion, such as mucoid cyst, maxillary cyst, wind cyst, nasovestibular cyst, subalar cyst and nasoglobular cyst; Thoma[3] suggested nasoalveolar cyst, but it was Rao[4] (1951) who first used the term nasolabial cyst, defining it as a lesion located between the soft tissues of the upper lip and nasal vestibule
It is thought that its pathogenesis is related to a period between the 4th and 8th weeks of intra-uterine life; at this time the maxillary process of the second brachial arch forms the base of the nose and the nasal alae
Summary
Zuckerkandl originally described Nasolabial cysts in 1882; the first case itself was reported by McBride in 1892. Aberrant changes at any of these fusion points may give rise to a fissure cyst.[5] In 1953, Klestadt[2] suggested that these cysts derived from ectodermal epithelial remains of embryological facial clefts along the fusion line between the middle and lateral nasal processes and the maxillary process; for this reason they would be named fissure cysts.[6,7,8] The other theory for explaining the genesis of these cysts is that they develop from cell remains derived from the lower opening of the nasolacrimal duct.[9,10,11] Pseudostratified columnar epithelium lines this duct, and is similar to that often found on the walls of nasolabial cysts.[7,12]
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