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.