An Undiagnosed Case of Mucous Retention Cyst of Maxillary Sinus- A Case Report of a 10-year-old Lesion

Abstract

Mucous Retention Cyst of paranasal sinuses is rare. In comparison with the other paranasal sinuses, its incidence in the maxillary antrum is very less. Anatomically the maxillary sinus is in close vicinity to the maxillary alveolus and dentition of the oral cavity. Pathologies involving these anatomical regions can manifest in both the sites or either of the site leading to diagnostic dilemmas. Maxillary sinus pathologies most often produce oral symptoms and hence may be misdiagnosed initially thereby causing delayed treatment. Hence, careful evaluation and management are highly essential. This article reports a case of mucous retention cyst of maxillary sinus mimicking maxillary tooth pathology leading to delayed management. The described case is a 38-year-old male patient having well-defined firm swelling on the middle 1/3rd of the face, with obliteration of buccal vestibule in the region of missing left maxillary first molar (26) mimicking residual cyst. The left maxillary first molar tooth had been extracted 10 years back due to its misdiagnosis as tooth pathology. Orthopantomograph (OPG) showed loss of floor of the maxillary sinus with well-defined dome-shaped radiolucency with sclerotic borders extending into the sinus. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of maxillary sinus pathology.

Keywords

• dome-shaped radiolucency
• mucocele
• oral cavity
• paranasal sinuses
• tooth