Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a locally invasive tumor of the major and minor salivary glands. A 29-year-old male patient reported a complaint of slow-growing, painless, non-ulcerated palatal swelling. On clinical evaluation, the swelling appeared benign; hence, the complete excision of the lesion was carried out under general anesthesia, with closure by reconstruction with a partial-thickness flap. Healing was uneventful. The histopathological evaluation revealed low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma. This case report aims to highlight the importance of proper clinical and histopathological evaluation to rule out malignancy, as mucoepidermoid carcinoma can have variable presentations and mimic various benign salivary gland lesions, similar to the occurrence in the present case.
Keywords: hard palate; low grade malignancy; mucoepidermoid carcinoma (mec); palatal swelling; salivary gland neoplasm.
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