Ranula: Modified Micro-Marsupialization: Case Report and Review of Literature

Ranula is a limited mucus retention on the floor of mouth. Due to the young age of patients, over the years, attempts were made to find minimally invasive and effective surgical techniques. To date, however, there is still no gold standard. The modified micro-marsupialization is an effective and minimally invasive technique, with minimal risk of relapse, although there are very few reports about it.

A 12-year-old male presented to our ENT Clinic with a rounded swelling with regular and defined margins, measuring 4x3 cm, soft and painless, non-compressible and bluish. Clinical diagnosis of ranula was made and a modified micro-marsupialization was performed: eight interrupted sutures using silk 3-0 were placed perpendicularly to the major axis of the lesion, from one side of the lesion to the other, without reaching the underlying tissue. No sutures were lost during follow-up, no complications occurred. Complete healing was reached after removing sutures on the 30th postoperative day. At 6 months control no relapse was observed.

Modified micro-marsupialization is strongly indicated and recommended, especially in pediatric patient, due to its low invasiveness and its very low relapse rate. The poor case history found in the literature is probably an indication of the lack of knowledge of modified micro-marsupialization which, in our opinion, could be considered the gold standard.