CASE REPORTS   

Italian Journal of Maxillofacial Surgery 2014 April;25(1):39-41

Copyright © 2014 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Cervical fistula due to lithiasis of the submandibular gland: report of a case and review of the literature

Segna E., Rossi D. S., Baj A., Beltramini G. A., Giannì A. B.

Department of Maxillo‑Facial Surgery and Odontostomatology, Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. Cà Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy

Calculosis of the salivary glands is common and leads to different and more or less serious pathological situations. In some rare cases, the inflammation provoked by stones may increase dramatically and lead to the formation of an orocutaneous fistula. When phlogosis is widespread not only in the submandibular loggia but also in the cervical soft tissues there is a high risk of diffusion also into the mediastinum. The article describes a clinical case of an orocutaneous fistula, due to submandibular sialolithiasis, with calculi found in the fistulous route. A radical sialoadenectomy and the removal of the fistula through a laterocervical approach has been the selected surgical treatment in order to minimize all the risks of flogistic diffusion.