A case of nasal-vestibular cyst

The nasal-vestibular cyst, or nasoalveolar cyst, is infrequently observed face lesion. We removed the cyst from the left nasal alar region of a woman aged 71 who had been afflicted with the lesion for the previous 4 years. The cyst was as large as a pigeon's egg.The patient had been aware of the swelling over the left ala of the nose for the past 4 years. For the past two months the patient had been unable to wear her upper denture because of the swelling involving the superior labial fold area.An obvious asymmetry of the left side of the face was noted. The swelling was about 4 cm in diameter, nontender, soft and fluctant and was located over the left piriform aperture of the nose and extended into the left nasal cavity to some degree. Approximately 15ml of cloudy somewhat brownish fluid was removed and immediately replaced by a same amount of 76% Urografin® contrast medium. The roentgenograms revealed a well-defined, oval cystic cavity situated in the soft tissues of the face at the junction of the upper lip and the lateral wall of the left nostril. The cystic cavity was disclosed to be entirely within the soft tissues and lying very close to the anterior surface of the maxilla.Microscopic examination revealed a cyst lined by a few layers of cuboidal cells. These cells appeared to be squamous but might be pseudostratified columnar cells containing goblet cells.Comparative study of 31 cases of nasal-vestibular cyst that had been reported in the dental literature of this country from 1960 to 1980 was made, and the clinical features and differential diagnosis of the disease were discussed.