Sialendoscopy-assisted transfacial surgical removal of parotid stones

Minimally invasive surgical approaches to parotid stones (such as extra-corporeal shockwave lithotripsy and sialendoscopy) have proved to be effective in a high percentage of cases, although success depends on factors such as the localisation of the stone, its size and its mobility. The failure rate of 10% is largely due to large and impacted stones and, in such cases, a combined external and sialendoscopic approach can be used to avoid morbidity and the risks of more invasive superficial parotidectomy. We treated eight patients with large parotid stones (>7 mm) using a sialendoscopy-assisted transfacial surgical approach that was effective in all but one case, which was successfully solved by combining this procedure with extra-corporeal lithotripsy and operative sialendoscopy. Our results confirm that the combined approach is a valid alternative to parotidectomy for large parotid stones and should be added to other minimally invasive techniques aimed at restoring the function of the affected parotid gland.