Mucoceles are small translucent bubble like lesion which appear on the inner lip or even under the tongue.
These usually appear as a small bump on the lip which can increase in size and look like a blister. These will usually ‘burst’ and flatten over a few days. The bump will appear to heal but the blister re-appears again after a week. In some cases, the blister can be rather large and can impede proper chewing.
Mucoceles are thought to form from either trauma to the lip or spontaneously. It is postulated to be formed when the small salivary glands or the ducts in our lip mucosas get cut. The saliva then leaks into the surrounding soft tissue of the lip and a bubble forms. Over time, these bubbles become organized and become a permanent condition.
The treatment of mucocele is by a small 15-20 minutes procedure under local anaesthesia. The mucocele is then sent to the histo-pathogy laboratory for confirmation by microscopy.
In most cases, mucoceles do not recur. However about one in five patient will suffer a recurrence and the mucocele appears again around or near the same area. This can be easily removed by the same procedure.
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