A 30-year-old female presents with a fluctuant swelling in the floor of the mouth extending into the neck below the mylohyoid muscle. Ultrasound shows a plunging lesion. The most likely diagnosis is:
- A Submandibular abscess
- B Dermoid cyst of the floor of mouth
- C Plunging ranula ✓
- D Ludwig's angina
Correct answer: C. Plunging ranula
Explanation
A plunging ranula is a pseudocyst arising from obstruction of the sublingual salivary gland that hernates through the mylohyoid muscle into the submandibular space or neck. It presents as a translucent, fluctuant swelling in the floor of mouth with a characteristic cervical extension ('plunging'). Treatment is marsupialisation or excision with the sublingual gland. Ludwig's angina is a diffuse cellulitis without a discrete cystic component.
Reference: Dhingra Diseases of Ear, Nose and Throat, 7th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.