Submandibular Gland Excision: a Five-year Review

Excision of the submandibular gland is a surgical procedure often undertaken. The procedure is the treatment of choice for patients with neoplasm of the submandibular gland and those with non-neoplastic submandibular disorders which are not controlled with conservative medical measures. Extirpation of the submandibular gland may also be undertaken for diagnostic purposes. This retrospective study of 93 consecutive patients who underwent excision of the submandibular gland in the Department of Otolaryngology, Singapore General Hospital over a five-year period was undertaken to study the indications of surgery, the pathology of the excised submandibular gland and the demographic profile of patients. Fifty-six (60.2 per cent) patients underwent submandibular gland excision for non-neoplastic salivary gland disease while 37 (39.8 per cent) had neoplastic submandibular gland disorders. The commonest pathology encountered was sialadenitis/sialolithiasis (53.76 per cent) followed by pleomorphic adenoma (33.33 per cent). Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) was a valuable pre-operative investigation with a sensitivity and specificity of 94.7 per cent and 100 per cent respectively for neoplastic disease. The morbidity rate for this surgery was 4.3 per cent.