Microsurgical repair of the parotid duct

Because of its relatively small caliber lumen, traumatic injuries of the parotid duct appropriately lend themselves to microsurgical repair. With the evolution of more modern techniques and materials, inert nylon microsutures placed under magnification permit an ideal atraumatic anastomosis of the divided ends of the parotid duct. Such an exact approach may also obviate the need for long-term stenting across the site of repair, which remains a controversial issue.