Recurrent right sublingual ranula, concomitant with ipsilateral submandibular salivary gland aplasia

Oral ranula is a retention cyst that arises from the salivary gland with recurrence rate of up to 25% after complete excision of ranula and up to 2% in case of complete excision of ranula and sublingual gland. Major salivary gland aplasia is a rare finding that is usually associated with other developmental anomalies.

We report a 15-year-old female patient presented with recurrent intraoral cystic swelling that was documented to be sublingual ranula. CT scan revealed also the absence of right submandibular salivary gland with persistence of its Whartons duct. This combination has never been reported previously.

The combination of recurrent sublingual ranula associated with aplasia of ipsilateral submandibular salivary gland and persistence of Whartons duct has never been reported before in the literature, a finding that may provide the base for future research.

Further research may prove similar associations between oral ranula and salivary gland aplasia, which may have clinical implications on diagnostic and management plan decisions.