Atempt of Endoscopic Manipulation of Parotid Sialolithiasis.

Sialolithiasis is an obstructive salivary disease, that usually occurs in the submandibular gland. Sialolithiasis of the parotid gland is relatively rare. We encountered two cases of sialolithiasis in the parotid gland and attempted a minimally-invasive approach by sialendoscopy. In this study we used two kind of fiberscopes for the sialendoscopy: one was the rigid type, 1.7-mm outer diameter (OD) without a working channel, and the other was the flexible type, 2.8-mm OD with a working channel. In terms of size, the former was more appropriate for sialendoscopy than the latter. However, the working channel was important for examination of the stensens duct and for treatment. Treatment was not performed, however, because in the first case the parotid stone was extracted unintentionally by the rigid endoscope during examination, and in the second case the stone dislodged by itself. We suggest that sialendoscopy is a useful approach. It is minimally-invasive, easy, inexpensive and presents a low patient burden.