Salivary Gland Procedure Gives Patient Relief

By ChaseYavondaC

Her issues subsided for a few months, but returned with a vengeance earlier this year.

“It felt like a rock was in my gland,” Macchi said. “It got to the point where I couldn’t eat.”

Between her flare ups, Emre Vural, M.D., a professor in the Department of Otolaryngology in the UAMS College of Medicine, began practicing a procedure known as sialoendoscopy. The technique uses microscopic scopes and tools to remove stones and address other salivary gland disorders in the form of kinks, strictures, thick secretions and mucus plugs.

The procedure began in Europe more than a decade ago and has begun to trickle into the states. Vural is the first doctor in Arkansas to use the procedure for stone removal.

It provides an alternative for patients who are forced to either deal with the pain and discomfort of the disorder or undergo an invasive surgery to remove the gland, which can lead to serious complications.

“Most of the time, in more than half of patients, the regular remedies don’t solve the problem,” Vural said. “It may relieve them for a month or so, but symptoms usually come back, and eventually, gland removal happens.”

Depending on which gland is being removed, nerve-damage symptoms, as a result of the invasive procedure, can include the inability to move the eyebrow, eyelid, cheek or lips, in addition to the inability to move or sense the tongue.

Macchi, who is a procurement specialist in the UAMS College of Medicine, said she was aware removing the gland could cause permanent damage and was relieved to learn of an alternative.

“Gland removal was not a route I really wanted to take,” she said. “I was excited to learn about the new procedure.”

Since April, when Vural removed two stones, Macchi has been symptom free.

“The swelling has gone down, and everything is back to normal,” she said. “I woke up from the procedure with no pain.”