Traumatic mucus cyst K13.4

After rupture of a salivary gland duct, usually solitary, only in exceptional cases multiple, glassy, soft, mostly painless pseudocyst with subsequent formation of a foreign body granuloma.

Mostly injury of a salivary gland in case of bite injury or other trauma of the oral mucosa. This results in the formation of an extravasation mucocele with a pseudocystic granulomatous reaction to the mucus extravasated into the tissue (extravasation type).

Less common are mucus retentions due to obstruction of the glandular excretory duct (retention type).

In clinical studies the age of manifestation is given as between 15-40 years. There are no gender differences.

Mainly lip mucosa (mostly lower lip about 35%), also cheek mucosa or ventral edge of the tongue (about 25%) are affected.

Quite predominantly sudden, single, rarely multiple, reddish-bluish, glassy, soft, hemispherical, about 0.5-1.5 cm in size, protuberant, glassy pale, but also bluish in appearance, usually painless nodule covered by a normal mucosa.

Cyst (pseudocyst) filled with mucoid substance, surrounded by a connective tissue pseudocapsule with peripheral formation of a foreign body granuloma with mucin-storing PAS-positive macrophages. Superficial subepithelial extravasation may lead to the imitation of a blistering disease.

Mucus granulomas generally regress after a few weeks. Exceptionally, they can also transform into permanent, firm, mostly pedunculated nodules (papillomas - see papilloma below), which can be disturbing during chewing.

Mucous cysts of the floor of the mouth are called ranula. This is a retention mucocele of the sublingual gland.

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