New Delhi (NVI): In a rare case, doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital removed 53 stones from the salivary duct and gland of a patient from Iraq without causing any injury to the gland.
According to a hospital statement, the complex operation was completed in two hours, with sialendoscopy procedure where a small endoscope measuring just 1.3mm is inserted into the duct of the parotid gland and the cause of obstruction is directly addressed.
The 66-year-old, patient from Baghdad was suffering from recurrent attacks of pain and swelling of the right-sided parotid gland after having food or drink. After consultation, she was diagnosed to have multiple stones in her right-sided parotid duct with the largest stone being about 8mm in size stuck midway between origin and end of the duct.
According to Dr Varun Rai, ENT Consultant , Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, “The biggest challenge was to remove all the stones without causing any injury to the gland or thin 3 mm wide duct.”
“The stones were removed painstakingly one by one using baskets and forceps without any cut in the body. The entire procedure took two hours and at the end 53 stones were removed,” he added.
He further said, “After an extensive review of worldwide literature a single parotid gland having more than 25 stones within the parotid duct is not previously reported.”
The doctors who were part of the operation said, “This is quite a rare case with such a large number of stones in the parotid gland. The incidence of stones in the parotid gland is less than 0.02% of the general population and multiple stones are rarer still.”
They further added, “Due to the advent of sialendoscopy these type of surgeries can be accomplished without the need for any cut and complete functional gland preservation is the norm.”
The patient was sent home on the first post-surgery day, the statement added.
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