Successful medical treatment for ranula in children

OBJECTIVES: We compare the outcome of medical treatment for ranula versus surgery in children. STUDY DESIGN: Multicentric cohort study. METHODS: The case series includes 37 children with ranulas (diameter 2.7 ± 1.5 cm). Eighteen patients, including 3 who had relapsed after either simple marsupialization or ranula removal alone, received oral nickel gluconate, mercurius heel, and glandula submandibularis suis D10/D30/D200. Fifteen cases underwent marsupialization with packing, and 2 underwent sublingual gland and ranula en-bloc excision. Two patients who recovered spontaneously shortly after diagnosis were excluded. RESULTS: No recurrences occurred among medical patients. Of the 17 surgical patients, 3 treated with marsupialization with packing relapsed. With the 3 surgical failures from other centers a total of 6 of 20 relapses were considered. Swelling or tension was common in surgical cases but unusual in medical patients. CONCLUSIONS: In this case series oral medical treatment for ranula was very effective and more effective than marsupialization with packing.