Sialoendoscopy in the management of salivary gland disorders--4 years experience

Sialoendoscopy is a minimally invasive technique used in the diagnosis and management of salivary gland disorders with promising success rates. Our objective is to describe our experience in sialoendoscopy, outlining our technique, success rates and complications, and to compare our data to those reported in the literature. A retrospective review and data analysis of all sialoendoscopic procedures performed by our service between 2006 and 2010 was performed. 41 patients were identified. 4 (9.7%) patients had normal findings, 2 (4.8%) had anatomical variants, 4 (9.7%) had benign strictures, 11 (26.8%) had mucinous debris and 20 (48%) had obstructing stones. Stone removal was successful in 19 (95%) of the 20 cases and symptomatic relief was achieved in 34 (83%) cases. In our experience a single interventional modality was used, despite that our success rates are similar to those reported in the literature where multiple therapeutic modalities were used.