Surgical management of the plunging ranula: a review of seven cases

We have treated seven patients with a plunging ranula during the past 10 years. All patients underwent surgery via a cervical approach. In two, the ranula reached the anterior neck by passing through a dehiscence in the mylohyoid muscle, while in the other five the plunging ranula passed posteriorly...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of laryngology and otology 1996-06, Vol.110 (6), p.554-556
Main Authors: Ichimura, Keiichi, Ohta, Yasushi, Tayama, Niro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Child, Preschool
Female
Head and neck surgery. Maxillofacial surgery. Dental surgery. Orthodontics
Humans
Main Articles
Male
Medical sciences
Mouth - surgery
Mouth floor
Neck - surgery
Ranula
Ranula - pathology
Ranula - surgery
Sublingual gland
Sublingual Gland - pathology
Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases
Surgery of the upper aerodigestive tract
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Summary:We have treated seven patients with a plunging ranula during the past 10 years. All patients underwent surgery via a cervical approach. In two, the ranula reached the anterior neck by passing through a dehiscence in the mylohyoid muscle, while in the other five the plunging ranula passed posteriorly to the mylohyoid muscle. A pseudocyst was extirpated in each patient. Although total sublingual gland excision was not performed in two patients, no recurrence was observed in any patient. Incision of the pseudocyst facilitated subsequent procedures and decreased the incidence of transient facial paralysis. In the presence of a cervical mass without swelling of the oral floor, a cervical approach may still be the method of choice either for the first operation or for salvage surgery after recurrence subsequent to intraoral procedures. It is based on the fact that there may be ectopic sublingual glands residing on the inferior surface of the mylohyoid muscle.
ISSN:0022-2151
1748-5460
DOI:10.1017/S0022215100134243