Sialendoscopy – a diagnostic and therapeutic approach subjectively rated by patients

INTRODUCTION Sialendoscopy is a miniinvasive procedure which shows the excretory ducts of the salivary glands. AIM To evaluate patient satisfaction with sialendoscopy in submandibular and parotid gland sialolithiasis. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study group included 100 consecutive patients with sialolithiasis, treated by means of sialendoscopy. The analysis was designed prospectively. The patients answered closed questions of our own, in-house made questionnaire. RESULTS The number of sialendoscopic procedures necessary for symptom resolution ranged from 1 to 3. The mean value was 1.2 and the median was 1. In 64 patients (64%) one procedure was sufficient for symptom resolution, while 10 (10%) and 8 (8%) patients required 2 and even 3 procedures, respectively. Sixty-three patients (63%) did not report any postoperative complications; 33 patients (33%) reported transient swelling of the submandibular region and 4 patients (4%) reported inflammation of the salivary gland. The level of treatment efficacy was 82%. Among 53 patients treated using sialendoscopy for the first time 92.3% rated this approach subjectively as a very good or good technique, whereas among 47 patients who had previously undergone non-endoscopic treatment, this percentage increased to 96.4%. The general level of satisfaction with the applied method did not depend on the age, gender, duration of ailments, the number of previously performed procedures or the number of sialendoscopic procedures necessary to obtain improvement and postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS Sialendoscopy may be performed practically in any case without risking the patient's discomfort or unpleasant experience. Assessment of sialendoscopy by the patients confirmed the minimally invasive character of this technique.