title: Outcome of minimally invasive management of salivary calculi in 4,691 patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the application of minimally invasive techniques in the management of salivary stones.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The incidence of salivary calculi is 60 cases/million/year, with most stones situated in the mid or proximal duct. The current treatment of these stones is adenectomy. This paper reports the results of minimally invasive methods of stone removal that avoid gland excision.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational study of 5,528 consecutive patients treated by lithotripsy, endoscopy, basket retrieval, and /or surgery in five centers from 1990 to 2004 inclusive. A total of 567 cases were excluded, leaving 4,691 patients (parotid n = 1,165, submandibular n = 3,526) for analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Salivary calculi were eliminated in 3,775/4,691 (80.5%) of cases and partly cleared in 782/4,691 (16.7%). Salivary glands were removed in 134/4,691 (2.9%) of patients with symptoms in whom treatment failed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Minimally invasive techniques move treatment of salivary calculi to an outpatient or a day case setting. They are reliable ways of both retrieving stones and eliminating symptoms, and mean that the gland rarely has to be removed.
authors.affiliation: University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany. heinrich.iro@uk-erlangen.de
authors.forename: Heinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iro
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zenk
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Escudier
authors.forename: Oded
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nahlieli
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Capaccio
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.forename: Jackie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McGurk
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008096:Lithotripsy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015494:Salivary Gland Calculi / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome