Bhubaneswar: A young male patient had 27 stones removed from his submandibular duct at the SUM Ultimate Medicare (SUMUM) recently.
Dr Radhamadhab Sahu, Senior Consultant of ENT and Skull Base Surgery at the hospital, conducted the surgery through Sialoendoscopy – a minimally invasive procedure to diagnose and treat salivary gland disorders.
The procedure involves an extremely small endoscope, measuring 1.3 mm, which is introduced into the salivary gland duct to directly address the cause of obstruction, Dr Sahu explained.
The gland became functional again post the procedure, he said.
The patient had come to the hospital with complaint of recurrent swelling of the left submandibular gland. Whenever he took spicy food, he would feel a painless lump in the submandibular gland area in the neck, which would disappear within a few hours.
He was diagnosed with multiple stones in submandibular duct and those were retrieved using laser Dormia basket by Sialoendoscopy, explained Dr Sahu.
He said SUMUM was the first hospital to introduce Sialoendoscopy, in August 2021.
He further informed that it is a routine practice in many medical centres to remove the entire salivary gland when stones are found there, leaving a visible scar on the patient’s neck.
“After this technique was introduced in SUMUM, many patients of all age-groups have benefitted and it has been possible to preserve the salivary gland,” Dr Sahu said.
SUMUM has now become the hub for Sialoendoscopy, attracting patients from across eastern India and also NRI patients from the UAE, New Zealand, Nigeria and Oman, added Dr Sahu.
