Pioneering new salivary stone techniques
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King's College London Dental Institute at Guy’s Hospital is leading the NHS in pioneering new techniques to tackle the increasingly recognised problem of salivary stones.Instead of traditional surgery to remove the gland where the stones form, which carries a high risk of side effects, an expert team are now offering a range of techniques that include breaking up the stones using controlled acoustic shockwaves, collecting the stones using miniature forceps or baskets that are passed down the salivary duct, and finally minimally invasive controlled surgery.
Salivary stones can be as large as three centimetres in diameter and form in ducts leading into the mouth where they obstruct the normal flow of saliva. At mealtimes extra saliva is produced which becomes stuck causing significant swelling around the glands and pain. If the problem is left untreated for long periods the backed up saliva can become infected.
No one fully understands why the stones form, only that they are made from calcium and the other minerals that are found in saliva. Awareness of the problem is not widespread and so sufferers often go undiagnosed or have limited treatment options at their nearest hospital.
The traditional treatment involved an invasive operation under general anaesthetic in which a surgeon would cut through the cheek and open the gland or duct to remove the stone or, frequently, the whole gland. As well as being uncomfortable for the patient, and causing scarring, it also carried a significant risk of damaging important nerves that give the face its movement and expression.
At the Dental Institute the specialist team has grouped the talents of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, a radiologist and an expert in oral medicine and lithotripsy to tackle this problem together. The work has been so successful that patients now travel from as far away as Northern Ireland, Cornwall, Wales and Scotland for their care.
Professor Mark McGurk, consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon, said: “We started specialising in this area 12 years ago, collaborating with partners in Europe, and have now built up a knowledge and level of expertise that isn’t found elsewhere in the NHS. That is reflected by the fact that patients are referred from so far away for treatment here. Other centres prefer to send their patients to us as we deal with salivary stones on such a regular basis, whereas they only come across it from time to time.”
Dr Michael Escudier, consultant in oral medicine, reports that the clinic is now seeing approximately 600 patients a year for the various forms of treatment and our results show that 80 per cent of stones can be successfully treated this way. Currently the Dental Institute at Guy’s Hospital is the only centre in the UK offering this treatment.
Press release developed in collaboration with Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Read the article published in the Daily Mail.
Posted on 19 February 2010
No one fully understands why the stones form, only that they are made from calcium and the other minerals that are found in saliva. Awareness of the problem is not widespread and so sufferers often go undiagnosed or have limited treatment options at their nearest hospital.
The traditional treatment involved an invasive operation under general anaesthetic in which a surgeon would cut through the cheek and open the gland or duct to remove the stone or, frequently, the whole gland. As well as being uncomfortable for the patient, and causing scarring, it also carried a significant risk of damaging important nerves that give the face its movement and expression.
At the Dental Institute the specialist team has grouped the talents of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, a radiologist and an expert in oral medicine and lithotripsy to tackle this problem together. The work has been so successful that patients now travel from as far away as Northern Ireland, Cornwall, Wales and Scotland for their care.
Professor Mark McGurk, consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon, said: “We started specialising in this area 12 years ago, collaborating with partners in Europe, and have now built up a knowledge and level of expertise that isn’t found elsewhere in the NHS. That is reflected by the fact that patients are referred from so far away for treatment here. Other centres prefer to send their patients to us as we deal with salivary stones on such a regular basis, whereas they only come across it from time to time.”
Dr Michael Escudier, consultant in oral medicine, reports that the clinic is now seeing approximately 600 patients a year for the various forms of treatment and our results show that 80 per cent of stones can be successfully treated this way. Currently the Dental Institute at Guy’s Hospital is the only centre in the UK offering this treatment.
Press release developed in collaboration with Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Read the article published in the Daily Mail.
Posted on 19 February 2010