CASE REPORTS   

Chirurgia 2016 December;29(6):200-2

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Atypical appearance of a mucous extravasation cyst (mucocele) of the lower lip

Graziano MONTARULI ¹, Michele LAURENZIELLO ¹, Marco IORIO ², Lorenzo LO MUZIO ¹, Domenico CIAVARELLA ¹

¹ Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Clinica Odontoiatrica, University of Foggia, Italy; ² Private Practictioner, Castelletto Sopra Ticino, Novara, Italy

Mucous extravasation cyst is a typical traumatic injury of the lower lip that predominantly affects young subjects. Clinically it manifests as an asymptomatic swelling, variable in diameter, that develops suddenly after a trauma. Treatment is exclusively surgical, with complete restitutio ad integrum of the affected area. The present paper illustrates a case where the distinctive feature is that the lesion has passed the surface of the mucosa of the lower lip manifesting outside. The present case was treated surgically with an excisional biopsy of the swelling of the lower lip performed in outpatient setting. After the removal, the specimen was sent quickly as a fresh sample at a pathology laboratory for histological examination. The histological findings led to a diagnosis of mucous extravasation cyst, which was borne out by the clinical features of the lesion, by epidemiological considerations and by etiological aspects reported by the patient. The case resolved with complete recovery of the area, observed a few weeks after surgery. The treatment of choice for mucous extravasation cysts is surgical as it allows to completely eliminate the lesion, also limiting its recurrence.