凍結手術による下口唇および舌尖粘液嚢胞の治療経験

Cryosurgery for the Treatment of Mucoceles of the Lip and Tongue

　I．はじめに

　口腔粘膜に発生する嚢胞は日常臨床においてしばしば遭遇する疾患であり，多くは下口唇あるいは舌尖部にみられるもので，その治療法は観血的に摘出することが一般的である。しかし，しばしば再発する傾向があり，その病因，病態も完全には究明されていないのが現状である。私どもは下口唇および舌尖粘液嚢胞に凍結手術を施行し，完治し得たので，これらの粘液嚢胞の病因および病態を文献的に考察し，凍結の嚢胞に対する作用機序および治癒機転を検討したので報告する。

　Cryosurgery was performed in 10 patients with mucoceles of the lip and tongue. The lesions were treated with cryoapplication of -60℃ on their surface without any preliminary premedication. If they did not disappear in one or two weeks by one cryoapplication, repeated treatment was done. The duration of the individual freezing cycle was usually one and half minutes. Immediately after thawing the frozen areas began to swell. In 24 hours the lesions became almost twice of their original size. Then the necrotic tissues were well demarcated and gradually exfoliated. After two to three weeks following the cryosurgery the lesions usually disappeared without leaving any remarkable scar. No recurrence was noted in all treated cases. The action of the freezing on the mucoceles and their healing process were discussed from the point of histopathological view. It is concluded from the present clinical study that cryosurgery can certainly be used as a reliable modality in the treatment of mucoceles of the lip and tongue.