A Clinical Experience of Nasopalatine Duct Cyst with Bony Defect

Kim, Young Jin; Seo, Je Won; Jun, Young Joon; Kim, Sung Sik

Abstract

The nasopalatine duct cyst, known as the incisive canal cyst, is the most common nonodontogenic cyst in the maxillofacial area. It is believed to arise from epithelial remnants of the embryonic nasopalatine duct. Nasopalatine duct cysts are most often detected in patients between forties and sixties. The trauma, bacterial infection, or mucous retention has been suggested as etiological factors. The cysts often present as asymptomatic swelling of the palate but can present with painful swelling or drainage. Radiologic findings include a well demarcated cystic structure in a round, ovoid or heart shape presenting with a well-defined bone defect in the anterior midline of the palate between and posterior to the central incisors. Most of them are less than 2cm in size. On MRI, the cyst is identified as a high-intensity, well-marginated lesion, which indicates that it contains proteinaceous material. We experienced a case of a 61-year-old female patient who had a 2.3*2.6*1.7cm sized nasopalatine duct cyst. The bony defect after a surgical extirpation was restored with hydroxyapatite. So we report a good results with some reviews of the literatures.