The Effect of the Sclerotherapy of Plunging Ranula with the Use of Picibanil

Kim, Myung Gu; Cho, Eun Young; Song, Jung Wook

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
A plunging ranula represents a mucus escape reaction occurring because of the disruption of the sublingual salivary gland. It is common condition found in young adults, although the reported age range is 2-61 years. There is said to be a slightly female preponderance of about 1.3:1 (F:M). Surgical incision has been considered the definite treatment, but sometimes complete excision is very difficult. Non-surgical treatment of these lesions has been attempted, but the results have not been satisfactory. In this study, we present our experiences with picibanil (OK-432) sclerotherapy for a plunging ranula. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: We retrospectively reviewed 12 patients who have undergone sclerotherapy with picibanil for plunging ranula. Information was collected on age, sex, number of injection, post-sclerotherapy side effects and outcome of treatment. RESULTS: Six patients (50%) showed a complete response, and 4 patients (33%) showed intermediate response. No response was seen in 2 patients (16%). Fever (41.7%) and pain (33.3%) were observed as side effects of intracystic OK-432 injection therapy. However, fever and pain disappeared after several days in all cases. CONCLUSION: The results show that OK-432 injection is an effective and safe treatment for plunging ranulas.