Intraoral Cystic Lesions: Presentation of a Series of 54 Cases and Review of Literature

Introduction: Congenital cystic swellings can be classified into dermoid cysts, congenital ductal cysts, and branchial cleft anomalies like cystic hygroma. These cysts are composed of elements from all three germinal layers. Acquired cysts most common encountered are mucous retention cysts usually involving the minor salivary glands. Objectives: A retrospective review of 54 cases of intraoral cystic swellings of the floor of the mouth is presented, evaluating their successful diagnosis and further the different surgical approaches for their removal. Materials and Methods: A total of 54 cases presented with a diagnosis of cyst of the floor of the mouth, treated at Saraswathi Institute of Medical Sciences, Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, India, between the period of 2010 and 2014. Results: Out of the total 54 cases diagnosed with intraoral cystic lesions, 30 cases were male and 24 cases were female which showed male:female ratio of 1.25:1. Age distribution of the patients ranged from 18 months to 62 years.It was seen that 16 patients belonged to the age group of 18 months-15 years (29.6%), 20 between 16 and 30 years (37.1%), 12 between 31 and 45 years (22.2%), and 6 patients were between 46 and 62 years of age (11.1%). Out of the 54 cases, 16 were ranula, 10 cases were of simple ranula (18.5%) and 6 were of deep plunging ranula (11.1%), 6 cases were of dentigerous cyst (11.1%), 10 cases of dermoid cyst (18.5 %), 2 parasitic cysts (3.7%), 14 cases were of mucus retention cyst (25.9%), and 6 were of cystic hygroma (11.1%). Conclusion: Surgery is the treatment of choice for intraoral cystic swellings. The approach of surgery depends on the location of thelesion in relation to the mylohyoid and geniohyoid muscles. For larger cysts some prefer aspiration of the contents of the cysts before excising, it as it considerably decreases the size of the incision and provides better healing and thus better cosmetic results.