A 60-year-old uncle in Zhejiang has a “strange disease”: his jaw bulges as soon as he eats

This article is reprinted from: Guangming.com

Uncle Yi (pseudonym) from Lin’an, Hangzhou, is 60 years old this year. He started to have a “bag”, and the pain was unbearable, but after a while, the “bag” would disappear automatically, repeatedly, making him annoyed.

Uncle Yi said that at first, he only felt discomfort when eating, but in recent years, he began to experience repeated severe pain. After several visits to the local health center for anti-infective treatment, he improved, but the attacks continued.

So, Uncle Yi came to the Stomatology Department of the First People’s Hospital of Lin’an District for treatment. After the examination, the ultrasound showed: abnormal echo in the right submandibular gland duct, considering the submandibular gland duct calculus, and chronic inflammatory changes of the submandibular gland.

CT examination showed that the right sublingual gland and submandibular gland duct were round-like high-density shadows, and stones should be considered

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The patient was diagnosed as submandibular duct calculus with infection based on the combination of medical history, specialist examination and auxiliary examination. The Department of Stomatology of Lin’an First Hospital, Uncle Yi, performed an intraoral lithotomy of the right submandibular gland duct to remove a stone with a diameter of about 7mm. The symptoms of swelling and pain disappeared after operation, and the patient’s intraoral submandibular gland duct was unobstructed and salivary secretion was normal.

Removed stones

Can stones also grow in the neck?

In most people’s impressions, stones are generally common in kidney stones, urinary tract stones, and gallbladder stones, but stones in the neck can also occur.

It turns out that there are a pair of saliva-secreting organs under the human chin, which are called “submandibular glands” in medicine. They produce about 60 percent of the saliva in the mouth. These saliva are secreted into the mouth through the ducts attached to the submandibular glands and participate in our daily oral physiological activities.

Due to various anatomical and physical and chemical factors, the submandibular gland and its subsidiary ducts of some people are prone to form stones, which in turn affects normal secretion of saliva. The retention of saliva can not only cause swelling of the mouth and face, but also easily lead to infection.

The etiology of salivary gland stones is currently unclear. Its source may be related to the retention of saliva in the mouth, foreign bodies, inflammation and the imbalance of calcium and phosphorus metabolism in the body. Occurs in young and middle-aged people aged 20-40. Large sialoliths cause difficulty in saliva excretion, manifested as swollen glands when eating, patients feel bloated and painful, sometimes severe pain, needle-like, called “saliva colic”. “. Symptoms disappear a few minutes to a few hours after you stop eating. Severe cases last for a long time, and even do not completely subside.

How to treat submandibular gland stones?

1

Conservative treatment

Acid foods can be eaten for small duct stones to promote saliva secretion, which is expected to be excreted on their own.

2

Surgical removal of calculus

It is suitable for those whose calculus is located in the anterior segment of the submandibular gland duct (before the second molar of the mandible), the submandibular gland has no recurrent infection, and the gland is not yet For fibrosis, direct surgery or salivary endoscopy can be used to remove stones.

3

Submandibular gland excision

It is suitable for stones that cannot be removed by the above methods, and recurrent submandibular adenitis leads to fibrosis of the gland, which has lost its uptake and secretory function.

How to prevent such diseases?

To prevent such diseases, the following three points should be done:

1. Drinking more water is the key, which can prevent the formation of sialoliths.

2. When there are symptoms of salivary duct obstruction, acidic drugs and fruits can be eaten to promote saliva secretion, and small sialoliths may be excreted by themselves.

3. Pay attention to the protection of the submandibular gland duct and strengthen oral hygiene.