Abstract

SURGICAL MANAGEMENT OF SALIVARY GLAND STONES

Dr. Talal Salih Jalal MBChB HDGS*

ABSTRACT

One of the most common disorders of the salivary glands is sialolithiasis. A history of pain or/and swelling in the salivary glands, especially during meal suggests this diagnosis. For small and accessible stones conservative therapies like milking of ducts with palliative therapy can produce satisfactory results. Surgical management should be considered when the stone/stones are inaccessible or large in size as conservative therapies turned out to be unsatisfactory. In this paper, we present three cases of sialolithiasis in the submandibular gland along with a review of existing literature. The purpose of this paper is to add three more cases to the literature and review the theories of etiology, clinical features, available diagnostic and treatment procedures. Objective: This study aimed to report a case of two sialoliths that have merged, forming a giant sialolith, located in the Wharton duct in the left submandibular gland. Methods and Results: Clinical diagnosis was confirmed by occlusal and panoramic radiographs. A surgical removal was performed with intraoral incision under local anesthesia, through sialolith anchorage by suture thread and removal of two sialoliths, sized about 13 mm and 16 mm. Marsupialization suture was performed at the local where the incision was made, forming a new gland duct. Conclusion: The sialolithiasis treatment methods are very different and should be taken into account the affected gland, size and location of sialolith, always opting for the more conservative methods.

Keywords: Salivary gland; obstruction; sialendoscopy; sialolith, stricture.