A Prospective Study of Recovery of Salivary Gland Function After Calculus Removal by Sialendoscopy

Sialendoscopy is gaining popularity in treating obstructive sialolithiasis as a gland preserving procedure. The study aimed to determine if the salivary glands recovered apart from symptomatic improvement after interventional sialendoscopy for calculus removal. A prospective comparative study was conducted in a tertiary care center on 24 patients diagnosed with sialolithiasis. The eligibility criterion was patients who underwent calculus removal through interventional sialendoscopy. All patients underwent objective and subjective methods of assessments of function of the salivary glands with the help of salivary Technetium (Tc) 99 Scintigraphy, measurement of salivary flow rate, Chronic obstructive sialadenitis symptoms (COSS), and xerostomia index (XI) questionnaires. Assessments were done before the procedure and repeated after 3 months. Categorical variables were expressed using frequency and percentage. Numerical variables were represented using mean and standard deviation. To test the statistical significance of the difference in the mean of the four parameters Wilcoxen sign ranked test was used. According to our study improvement in functionality was noted in all of the subjective and objective parameters assessed namely Tc scintigraphy, salivary flow rate, COSS questionnaire, and XI questionnaire, with a statistically significant p value (< 0.001). Functionality of salivary gland showed improvement within 3 months of calculus removal through sialendoscopy. There was a marked improvement in the symptoms after sialendoscopy. This study demonstrates that removal of obstructing calculus results in rapid recovery of glandular function thereby emphasizing the need for salivary gland preservation. Level of evidence: Level III.