Four-Duct Ligation a Simple and Effective Treatment for Chronic Aspiration from Sialorrhea
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE Four-Duct Ligation A Simple and Effective Treatment for Chronic Aspiration From Sialorrhea CPT Christopher Klem, MC, USA; Lt Col Eric A. Mair, USAF, MC Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of bilateral Main Outcome Measures: Incidence of postopera- submandibular and parotid duct ligation on children with tive aspiration pneumonitis; gross anatomical connec- severe neuromuscular impairment and chronic aspira- tions between the submandibular duct and sublingual tion of salivary secretions and to identify any predict- gland in cadaveric specimens. able anatomical connections between the submandibu- lar duct and sublingual glands. Results: No postoperative airway obstruction, infec- tion, or xerostomia was noted, and technetium scan- Design: Case series; retrospective anatomical study of ning confirmed control of salivary secretions from ma- adult cadaveric submandibular gland specimens. jor salivary glands. Caregivers noted diminished salivary secretions and no aspiration pneumonia. Setting: Academic tertiary referral medical center. Conclusions: This new, simple intraoral procedure con- Patients: Five children with severe neuromuscular im- trols aspiration pneumonitis with minimal surgical dis- pairment and recurrent aspiration pneumonitis. section and has less morbidity than procedures involv- ing major salivary gland excision. Ranula formation, a Intervention: The children underwent bilateral sub- common complication of submandibular duct transpo- mandibular and parotid duct ligation. The oral cavities sition, is unlikely in this procedure because the sublin- of 8 cadavers were dissected to identify anatomical con- gual ducts are not interrupted. nections between the submandibular duct and sublin- gual glands. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1999;125:796-800 ROOLING IS common geries that diminish oral secretions in- among children with ce- clude transtympanic chorda tympani and rebral palsy, occurring in tympanic nerve section, submandibular an estimated 10% of gland excision, sublingual gland exci- cases.1 Children with se- sion, and parotid duct ligation or reposi- Dvere cerebral palsy may also suffer from tioning. These have all been performed recurrent life-threatening pneumonitis with various rates of success and morbid- secondary to aspiration of salivary secre- ity. Bilateral parotid duct ligation com- tions. Conservative treatment measures, bined with bilateral submandibular gland such as behavior modification to lessen excision has been shown to be as effec- drooling activity, feeding programs to tive as either laryngotracheal separation or improve oral motor function, and phar- tracheotomy in the treatment of chronic macotherapy to decrease saliva produc- aspiration, but with fewer complica- tion, are often ineffective in these tions.2 Removal of the submandibular severely affected children, and surgery glands, however, requires external inci- frequently offers the best hope for suc- sions and is associated with substantial cessful management. morbidity.3-5 Current surgical options to treat The physiological rationale behind chronic aspiration of saliva include laryn- the success of salivary duct ligation is func- From the Department of gotracheal separation and tracheotomy. tional atrophy of the affected gland. Al- Otolaryngology–Head and These are relatively aggressive proce- though this is a controversial subject, nu- Neck Surgery, Walter Reed dures that allow for improved control of merous studies have shown either Army Medical Center, aspirated secretions, but are often not ac- histological or radiographic evidence of Washington, DC. ceptable options to caregivers. Other sur- glandular atrophy as a desired result of ARCH OTOLARYNGOL HEAD NECK SURG/ VOL 125, JULY 1999 796 ©1999 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. Downloaded From: https://jamanetwork.com/ on 09/26/2021 PATIENTS AND METHODS Five patients, 1 to 17 years of age (median, 4 years), underwent surgery at the Walter Reed Army Medi- cal Center, Washington DC, between July 1, 1997, and January 31, 1998. There was a 4-year-old girl and 4 boys aged 1.2, 3, 6, and 17 years. All patients had severe cerebral palsy and recurrent pneumonitis sec- ondary to aspirated salivary secretions (average, 2.5 cases per year; range, 1 to 4 cases per year). More con- servative methods of sialorrhea control were at- tempted in all cases before surgery but were unsuc- cessful because of the severity of neuromuscular impairment. Figure 1. Preoperative view of the left parotid duct papilla. The operation was performed with the patient under general anesthesia with nasotracheal intuba- tion in 3 cases and via preexisting tracheotomy in 2 children. The oral cavity was exposed with the aid of a rubber bite block. Bilateral parotid duct ligation was performed as previously described (Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3).8,9 For the second half of the operation, the distal submandibular duct papillae on either side of mid- line were identified, and 1 mL of 1% lidocaine with epinephrine 1:100 000 was injected around the site. A submucosal incision was then made between the papillae along the line of the sublingual frenulum with a No. 15 blade scalpel. A Kelly clamp was placed on the duct orifice to hold the duct while submucosal blunt dissection along the distal duct was per- formed. Care was taken not to disrupt any sublin- gual ducts that might be entering the submandibu- Figure 2. The distal right parotid duct is isolated. lar duct. When no more than 1 cm of the submandibular duct was exposed, the duct was tied in 2 places with silk sutures and the caruncle tip was cauterized on low power (Figure 4, Figure 5, and RESULTS Figure 6). The procedure was then repeated on the opposite side. The small initial incision between the Immediate mild postoperative swelling in both the sub- duct orifices was either left open or closed with an mandibular and parotid areas subsided within 2 to 3 days interrupted absorbable suture. in all children. There were no instances of aspiration pneu- A single dose of perioperative antibiotics (second- monitis, airway obstruction, fever, or wound infection generation cephalosporin) was used in all cases; how- in the immediate postoperative period, and all of the chil- ever, no patient received postoperative antibiotics or dren were able to be transferred to the pediatric ward the corticosteroids. Because of the children’s multiple day after surgery in preparation for discharge. The chil- medical problems and concern for potential airway dren did not require intravenous hydration postopera- management issues, immediate postoperative recov- ery occurred in the pediatric intensive care unit. tively because they tolerated their gastrostomy tube feeds To demonstrate the extreme anatomical varia- without difficulty. Although 3 of the children (through tion of the sublingual ducts and, thereby, help ex- the caregivers) complained of mild discomfort, this was plain the 10% rate of ranula formation encountered effectively managed with nonsteroidal analgesics and acet- in submandibular duct transposition, 16 fresh ca- aminophen. In all cases a marked decrease in the amount daveric specimens were dissected. Specifically, a pat- of drooling was noted by the caregiver before the pa- tern in the connections between the sublingual and tient was discharged. submandibular duct was sought. The period of follow-up ranged from 10 to 15 months (median, 13 months). All follow-up data are from pri- mary interviews with the patients’ caregivers and by physi- cal examination. No patient experienced an episode of duct ligation or as an unintentional consequence of duct aspiration pneumonitis since surgery. Every patient re- manipulation from various surgical procedures.6,7 Simple ported a substantial decrease in the amount of drooling intraoral ligation of the major secretory ducts of the sub- from the preoperative state; however, there were no com- mandibular and parotid glands should induce atrophy plaints of dry mouth. There were no instances of ranula of the glands and significantly decrease the production formation or swelling in the floor of the mouth. of saliva, thereby reducing the potential for aspiration of Postoperative technetium 99m albumin aggre- salivary secretions. gated (Mallinckrodt, St Louis, Mo) scan was performed ARCH OTOLARYNGOL HEAD NECK SURG/ VOL 125, JULY 1999 797 ©1999 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. Downloaded From: https://jamanetwork.com/ on 09/26/2021 Figure 3. Postoperative view of the right distal parotid duct, cauterized and tied. Figure 5. The distal submandibular duct is located. Figure 4. Preoperative view of the submandibular duct papillae seen lateral Figure 6. Postoperative view of bilateral submandibular duct ligation. to the frenulum of the tongue. on 2 patients. Results showed decreased uptake in the tive measures, the success of which correlates directly with parotid and submandibular glands. The sublingual glands the degree of neuromuscular dysfunction, are often less were unaffected. effective in these severely impaired children, and sur- The results of the cadaveric dissections of the sub- gery offers the most definitive treatment. mandibular and sublingual ducts are shown in the Table. Many of the accepted surgical alternatives for treat- We found a significant and unpredictable variation be- ment of sialorrhea focus on bypassing the dysfunctional oral tween both individual specimens and opposite sides of phase of swallowing, while preserving salivary produc- the same cadaver.