DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY OF SALIVARY GLAND SWELLING

Introduction: Salivary glands, major and minor, comprise a complex anatomic and physiologic “organ” system-producing enzyme, lubrication, mixing agent and immune factors. Salivary gland swellings can be broadly classified into inflammatory, non- inflammatory and neoplastic swellings like calculi, benign tumours such as pleomorphic adenoma, oncocytoma, warthin’s tumour or malignant tumours like adenocarcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma and undifferentiated carcinoma.  Connective tissue diseases like haemangioma, lymphangia, neurofibroma  and  other auto immune diseases like Sjogren’s syndrome, Mikulicz disease etc. Appropriate therapeutic management may be planned earlier, whether it is local excision for a benign neoplasm, radical surgery for a malignant one or any other alternate treatment. With non-neoplastic lesions, metastasis and lymph proliferative disorders, conservative management, chemotherapy or radiotherapy might be respectively preferable. Material and Methods: 40 cases of salivary gland swelling are studied, which were analyzed and conclusion drawn. The statistics have been compared with different standard studies conducted on same subject by various authors around world. Associated medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension and anemia were managed and controlled before surgery with the patient’s advice. As a part of general work up of surgery in all patients, hemoglobin level, bleeding time, clotting time, urine, sugar albumin, microscopy, chest screening, ECG, Blood urea, serum Creatinine, RBS was estimated. Specific investigations like FNAC, X-rays of Mandible were done for all patients in the study group. Demographic profile of all the study population was recorded. Results: Age of the patients varied from 9 years to 80 years. Average age   of the patient was 40.6 years. The case of lowest age group i.e., 9 years was of non-inflammatory swelling   and the case of highest age i.e., 80 years was of tumor swelling. Out of 40 cases 15(35%) cases was of male and 25(65%) cases of female. In this study, all cases presented with, symptoms of swelling (100%), 65% (26) presented with pain. 55 % (22) presented with tenderness. Three cases were with deep lobe involvement (11.4%), 19 cases of ear lobe elevation (47.5%). Facial nerve paralysis occurred in one case (2.8%). Conclusion: Diagnosis of the salivary gland tumors must be considered in any patient presenting with salivary gland swelling. Salivary gland swelling occur more commonly in 3rd and 4th decades of life and seen most common in females. Keywords: salivary gland, tumour, benign, malignant