Salivary glands can be divided into two as major and minor.
Major salivary glands consist of;
- Parotis
- Submaxillal
- Sublingual
Minor salivary glands can be counted as many in
- Inside mouth
- Lips
- Palate
The purpose of salivary glands is to create saliva which is used against microbes as disinfectant, for humidification of mouth and helping digestive system. In a day, approximately 1 liter of saliva is generated.
Benign Salivary Gland Diseases
They are divided into two as non-tumoral and tumoral.
- Non-tumoral Diseases
-Acute viral or bacterial salivary gland infections, salivary gland calculi, chronic salivary gland infections and mouth dryness can be considered as non-tumoral diseases.
Although these treatments require solely medical treatment, there would be a surgical intervention if necessary.
- Benign Salivary Gland Tumours
70-80% of the tumours stem from parotis gland. Generally, they are seen in 50-70 years of ages. There are important roles of ENT examination, radiological analyses and fine-needle aspiration biopsy in diagnosing the disease. Treatment is planned according to pathology report.
Normally, all benign tumours are subjected to operation.
- Malignant Salivary Gland Tumours
They consist of 3-4% of malign tumours located in head and neck area. Though there is no concise reason as to why these happen, it is generally considered that radiation exposure, viral infections and environmental and genetic factors are decisive.
The treatment in malignant tumours is operative. If there is a spread in lymph nodes, lymph nodes in the same side are removed via an operation called neck dissection. For tumours that are large and has a high risk of spreading, radiotherapy is utilised after surgery in order to prevent further growth of tumour in the same area.
