Necrotizing sialometaplasia is a benign, self-limiting, inflammatory, ulcerative lesion of the salivary gland. Commonly, this lesion has been reported in the minor salivary gland of the hard palate, soft palate, hard and soft palate or in the parotid gland, and a few cases of the maxillary sinus, nasopharynx, and the lower lip have also been reported. It is often confused clinically and histopathologically with malignancies, such as squamous cell carcinoma or mucoepidermoid tumors.
Two cases of this lesion of the hard palate are presented in this paper. The first case is a 22-year-old Japanese female referred to us because of pain of the palate. The left hard palate was swollen with an ulcer. The histopathological report of the biopsy suspected necrotizing sialometaplasia. So the lesion was excised and histopathological examination confirmed this diagnosis. The second case is a 26-year-old Japanese female referred to us because of swelling of the palate. The left hard palate was swollen with ulcer. The histopathological findings of the biopsy revealed necrotizing sialometaplasia. No treatment was performed. In both cases, the lesions were completely healed by five or ten weeks from the time of biopsy and there was no evidence of recurrence.
