Last night I had an interpreter I occasionally work with call me with a concern about his brother. He told me that he had “a meatball growing under his tongue.” Now I have seen a few interesting things during my short medical career. However, I have yet to see a meatball growing in someone’s mouth. So I told him to bring him on base so that I could take a look at it.
Today when he arrived, sure enough, he had something growing in his mouth. The picture above shows the specimen right beneath his tongue. It was a pretty large cyst that was growing rapidly and pushing his tongue out of its normal position. Although large, it looked very benign. So what did I do with it? Well, like all meatballs, it required that I investigate to find out what it was made of. So I took a knife and cut it open. It oozed and oozed and then oozed some more. Honestly, it was a fun little procedure and rewarding to watch it slowly disappear. It is the kind of sick thing that only a doctor can enjoy.
So there you have it. The case of the mysterious “meatball” is now solved. Anyone hungry?
7 comments:
Wow so gross and yet so interesting. I bet he was glad you could help.
At first glance, it kind of looks like an eyeball.
Dad said he thought it looked fun to jab at it. (He should have been a doctor) As for me, it looked disgusting! We love you.
Love, Dad and Mom
Hey, I am an old friend of Sue and Guy and was introduced to your blog through Sue through facebook. I have enjoyed your many posts.
This one struck my fancy because I am currently in dental school and we are trained to love oral pathology. :)
This particular lesion looks very much like a ranula. Very interesting. It may occur - and I am not sure if you will still be around when it does, but he may need resection of his sublingual gland. Are there any oral surgeons out in your neck of the desert?
Just a thought. Keep up the posts, I find them inspiring.
Ben
Ben,
Ranula...my diagnosis as well. However, sublingual meatball is a little more interesting for my readers. I warned him that the chance of recurrence is very high. Are you available to come out to Afghanistan to do a sublingual resection? Thanks.
I wish I could! I would be there in a heart beat. Meatball does sound better!
Sorry, above comment was me posing as my wife....
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