ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

European Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2020 December;4(3):85-92

DOI: 10.23736/S2532-3466.20.00217-9

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Plunging cervical ranulas: a 15-year retrospective clinico-surgical appraisal at a major referral hospital in the southern province of Saudi Arabia

John S. DANIELS ¹, Ibrahim ALBAKRY ¹, Ramat O. BRAIMAH ² ✉, Mohammed I. SAMARA ¹, Mana A. AL-KALIB ¹

¹ Unit of Surgery, Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, King Khalid Hospital, Najran, Saudi Arabia; ² Unit of Surgery, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Specialty Regional Dental Center, Najran, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Plunging ranulas (PR) are ranulas extending into the submandibular or submental space. The aim of the study is to report the prevalence, presentation and management of PR in Najran Region of Saudi Arabia.
METHODS: A retrospective study of all ranulas seen and managed over a 15-year period from 2004-2018. The data collected include demographics, type of ranula, modality of occurrence, laterality and type of treatment including surgical approach. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for IOS Version 25 (IBM Corp.; Armonk, NY, USA). Results were presented as simple frequencies and descriptive statistics.
RESULTS: Seventy-five patients were managed as cases of ranula during the review period. Out of these, 20 (26.7%) were cases of PR. A prevalence rate of 0.05 cases/1000 persons was observed. There were 17 males and 3 females giving a male/female ratio of 5.7:1. Their ages ranged from 13-39 years with mean±SD (27.4±7.9). A total of 18 patients (90.0%) had excision of the PR together with the sublingual gland ab initio while 2 patients (10.0%) initially had marsupialization carried out followed later by excision. Nineteen (95%) cases were surgically approached intraorally and only one case, a complication from a previously operated oral ranula, was excised by transcervical approach.
CONCLUSIONS: A prevalence rate of 0.05 cases/1000 persons for PR with a male predilection of 5.7:1 was observed. Excision of the ranula together with the sublingual gland was carried out in majority of the cases through transoral approach with only one case excised through transcervical approach.

KEY WORDS: Surgery; Ranula, Sublingual gland