title: A clinicopathologic review of 138 cases of mucoceles in a pediatric population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the clinicopathologic features of pediatric mucoceles diagnosed in two public institutions in Brazil during an 18-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical data (age, sex, history of trauma, location, and size) of 138 cases of mucoceles in children 0 to 16 years of age were obtained from medical records. The lesions were classified as mucus extravasation phenomenon and mucus retention phenomenon, depending on the presence of epithelial lining in the microscopic analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mucoceles made up 24.5% of the oral pediatric lesions diagnosed in the period of study. Age at diagnosis ranged from 0.4 to 16.0 years, with a mean age of 10.8 years. Of the total of mucoceles, 87 were observed in females and 51 in males. The lower lip was the most commonly affected site, and a history of trauma was related by 87% of the patients. Histologically, 96.4% of mucoceles were diagnosed as mucus extravasation phenomenon. Cases of mucus retention phenomenon were relatively more common in the floor of the mouth, since one in three lesions in this location belonged to this histologic type. Regarding lesions in the lower lip, only 2.65% were diagnosed as mucus retention phenomenon.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Trauma is the main etiologic factor involved in the development of mucoceles in children. The mucus extravasation phenomenon is the most common histologic type in this age group. Although rare, the retention type seems to be more common in lesions on the floor of the mouth.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, Federal University of Sergipe, Sergipe, Brazil. saqmartins@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Paulo Ricardo Saquete
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Martins-Filho
authors.forename: Thiago de Santana
authors.initials: Tde S
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Heitor Fontes
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: Marta Rabello
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Piva
authors.forename: Emanuel Sávio de Souza
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.forename: Luiz Carlos Ferreira
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: da Silva
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005151:Facial Injuries / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008047:Lip Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009060:Mouth Floor / Q000473:pathology; D009078:Mucocele / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012466:Salivary Gland Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D012470:Salivary Glands, Minor / Q000473:pathology