Swelling Related to Ranula Under The Tongue

The Story:

This patient was seen for evaluation of ranula on the right side of floor of mouth. The swelling had been present for several months.

What is Ranula? A ranula is a mucus extravasation cyst involving a sublingual gland and is a type of mucocele found on the floor of the mouth. Ranulae present as a swelling of connective tissue consisting of collected mucin from a ruptured salivary gland caused by local trauma.

Treatment:

A marsupialization technique was used to manage this ranula. This involves unroofing the lesion, eversion of its margins, and stabilizing it to the surrounding tissue with resorbable sutures. The entire procedures takes about 1o minutes and can be done under local anesthesia.

The lesion heals over 2-3 weeks. Here is the site after 4 weeks of healing.