Necrotizing sialometaplasia. A condition simulating malignancy.

Necrotizing sialometaplasia occurred in a 55-year-old woman. The ulcerated lesion on the hard palate was treated conservatively and resolved spontaneously in about three months. The histology of the lesion consisted of coagulative necrosis of the salivary gland lobules and prominent squamous metaplasia within adjacent viable lobules. Since this benign lesion has frequently been mistaken for mucoepidermoid carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, recognition of it may spare the patient a radical surgical procedure.