Steady progress seen in endoscopic surgery on major salivary glands

The objective of this study was to investigate the development in sialendoscopy (SE) in East Denmark. Data were compared with previously published data to assess the learning curve.

In this retrospective consecutive study, all patients who had SE performed at Hillerød Hospital from November 2009 to April 2011 were included. Data were extracted from medical records and interviews. Two surgeons performed all SEs. Z-test and Fisher's exact test were used for statistical analysis.

A total of 118 patients met the inclusion criteria. In all, 156 diagnostic and 139 therapeutic SEs were performed. The median age was 44 years (3-85 years) and the female-to-male-ratio was 1.81. A total of 96% of patients had pre-operative ultrasound performed (the positive predictive value for detection of stone was 0.82, 95% confidence interval 0.70-0.90. Indication for SE was recurrent or chronic swelling, pain, identified stone or recurrent infections. The only exclusion criterion was neoplasms. The success rate of diagnostic SE was 98%, and the therapeutic SE success rate was 67%. Total or partial relief from symptoms was obtained in 77% of patients which was a significant improvement (Z-test: p < 0.001). No serious persistent complications occurred.

SE is a safe and effective treatment for benign obstructive disease of the major salivary glands. The surgeon's results improve significantly over time. Updated equipment and an experienced surgeon yielded patient symptom relief in 77% of cases.

not relevant.

This study was approved by the Danish Committee on Biomedical Research Ethics and the Danish Data Protection Agency.