Pediatric sialendoscopy: a 5-year experience at a single institution.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the outcome of our experience in the treatment of salivary gland disorders in children undergoing sialendoscopy and to assess the evolution of the technique.


METHODS
Retrospective medical record review.


METHODS
Tertiary care university hospital.


METHODS
Thirty-eight children with salivary gland disorders undergoing diagnostic and interventional sialendoscopy between January 1, 2003, and November 30, 2008.


METHODS
Diagnostic and interventional sialendoscopy using general anesthesia.


METHODS
Demographic, clinical, and surgical variables, including age, sex, date of first symptoms, parotid or submandibular location of disease, preoperative ultrasonographic results, sialendoscopy technique, sialendoscopy observations, and complications.


RESULTS
Pediatric sialendoscopy was performed on the parotid gland in 23 patients (61%) and on the submandibular gland in 15 patients (39%). The most frequent indication for sialendoscopy was recurrent salivary gland swelling. Thirty-two of 38 procedures (84%) were performed endoscopically, whereas a combined intervention was necessary for 3 patients and a submandibular gland excision for another 3 patients. Sialendoscopy allowed the diagnosis of 12 patients with salivary duct lithiasis, 21 with salivary duct stenosis, and 2 with both submandibular lithiasis and stenosis, and findings from 3 sialendoscopies were normal. Preoperative ultrasonographic results were confirmed by sialendoscopy in only 7 patients. Of the 10 patients with lithiasis found using sialendoscopy, only 4 had been detected using preoperative ultrasonography.


CONCLUSIONS
Sialendoscopy is a pertinent technique for the diagnosis and treatment of salivary gland disorders in children. It also allows the most conservative treatment of sialolithiasis and juvenile recurrent parotitis.
Martins-Carvalho
Christine
C
Services d'Oto-Rhino-Laryngologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Hôpital Augustin Morvan, 5 Avenue Foch, 29200 Brest, France. martinscarvalhoc@ymail.com
Plouin-Gaudon
Isabelle
I
Quenin
Stéphanie
S
Lesniak
Jérome
J
Froehlich
Patrick
P
Marchal
Francis
F
Faure
Frederic
F
D000293:Adolescent; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012466:Salivary Gland Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome