Les Alpha-1-Bloquants (alfuzosine) en pathologie salivaire obstructive

Salivary duct stenosis: diagnosis and treatment

The management of stenoses of the major salivary glands had undergone a significant change during the last 15-20 years. Accurate diagnosis forms the basis of adapted minimal invasive therapy. Conventional sialography and MR-sialography are useful examination tools, and ultrasound seems to be a first-line investigational tool if salivary duct stenosis is suspected as cause of gland obstruction. Sialendoscopy is the best choice to establish final diagnosis and characterise the stenosis in order to plan accurate treatment. In all major salivary glands, inflammatory stenosis can be distinguished from fibrotic stenosis. In the parotid duct system, an additional stenosis associated with various abnormalities of the duct system has been reported. Conservative therapy is not sufficient in the majority of cases. The development of a minimally invasive treatment regime, in which sialendoscopy plays a major role, has made the preservation of the gland and its function possible in over 90% of cases. Ductal incision procedures are the most important measure in submandibular duct stenoses, but sialendoscopy becomes more important in the more centrally located stenoses. Sialendoscopic controlled opening and dilation is the dominating method in parotid duct stenoses. In 10-15% of cases, success can be achieved after a combined treatment regime had been applied. This review article aims to give an overview on the epidemiology, diagnostics and current state of the art of the treatment of salivary duct stenoses.

A case of bilateral megaducts: Diagnostic and treatment methods

INTRODUCTION

The pathology of the saliva glands comprises both tumoral and obstructive disorders. The latter include lithiasis, stenosis and megaduct. In this paper, we describe a clinical case of bilateral megaduct, a rare pathology, using sialo-MRI imaging and a conservative diagnostic-cum-therapeutic technique, sialendoscopy with dilation followed by catheterization.

CLINICAL CASE

Our female patient presented oversized parotids with an unsightly deformation of the face (parotid ducts visible beneath the skin) and itchy cheeks, from which she had suffered for several years. Sialo-MRI revealed bilateral hypertrophied parotid saliva glands. We opted to perform diagnostic sialendoscopy to explore the branches of the salivary gland system and found ducts shaped like strings of sausages associated with mucous plugs. The treatment procedure was combined with rinsing of both parotid ducts in physiological serum followed by initiation of antibiotic-corticotherapy within the saliva ducts and, lastly, by placement of transpapillary drains, which were left in place for 10 days. Immediately following the procedure, the patient felt a considerable improvement regarding both local discomfort and her cheek deformation. Postoperative control at 10 weeks by sialo-MRI confirmed the reduction of the dilation of the salivary ducts. At 3 months, the patient continued to display a marked clinical improvement despite her saliva retaining a thick consistency. She no longer suffered from pruritis or deformation of the cheeks.

DISCUSSION

Sialendoscopy could become the reference treatment tool since it is both efficient and conservative. Duration of her postoperative catheterization remains to be defined.