Indigenous Management of Parotid Sialocele Using Foley's Catheter: A Report of Two Cases.

Abstract

Parotid gland and duct injuries are rare complications following surgery of parotid gland and temporomandibular joint. Sialocele is a cavity filled with saliva, usually formed as a result of trauma to salivary gland/duct or an iatrogenic complication of surgery. Several methods of managing parotid duct injury have been reported in the literature. In this article, we describe an indigenous way of internalisation of salivary fistula that resulted from traumatic injury to the parotid duct. The authors present two cases of parotid sialocele managed using Foley's catheter through an intraoral opening, and catheter was internalised, secured and left in situ for 15 days. The salivary flow was found to be normal through the intraoral opening, and no recurrence was observed postoperatively. Parotid duct injury associated with sialocele and cutaneous salivary fistula could be effectively internalised using Foley's catheter, under local anaesthesia. This technique of internalisation of parotid sialocele is simple, less invasive and may be performed as an outpatient procedure.