title: Two cases of plunging ranula managed by the intraoral approach.
abstract: Two cases of plunging ranula are reported. Treatment consisted of the total removal of the sublingual gland and evacuation of the cystic contents by the intraoral approach. The cyst remained just after the surgery in both cases, but then gradually regressed and disappeared within two months after the surgery. These findings support total removal of the sublingual gland as being the best method of treatment. We believe that complete dissection of the cyst with cervical incision as well as drainage of the cystic contents are unnecessary when the diagnosis of the plunging ranula is confirmed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Iwaki Kyoritsu General Hospital, Iwaki 973-8555, Japan. ZAY00015@nifty.com
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hidaka
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oshima
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kakehata
authors.forename: Ken-Ichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toshima
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Toshimitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D011900:Ranula / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013361:Sublingual Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D014463:Ultrasonography