A Submandibular Gland Mucocele Extending to the Skull Base

ABSTRACT

mucocele is a mucus extravasation cyst arising from the salivary gland. Although it is a common lesion of the minor salivary gland, it is uncommon when it originated from the submandibular gland. The ranula is a form of mucocele which specifically occurs in the floor of the mouth and the sublingual gland is generally accepted as the origin of ranula. They can be classified into two types based on extent simple ranula are confined to the sublingual space and plunging ranula extend into the adjacent space. It is difficult to differentiate the submandibular gland mucocele from the plunging ranula because both of them can occupy the submandibular space. A 37-year old male visited our clinic with the chief complaint of left facial swelling. The patient's history revealed that he had suffered from a cystic lesion on the left side of the floor of the mouth 10 months previously. He supposed the cystic lesion had come from trauma at other dental clinics. Using CT and MRI, we diagnosed a simple ranula on the sublingual space and a submandibular gland mucocele. We then excised the mucocele with the submandibular gland by an extraoral approach and the sublingual gland by an intraoral approach under general anesthesia. We report a rare case of an enormous submandibular gland mucocele which extended into the pterygoid plate and parapharyngeal space with good surgical results.