Chronic sialadenitis with sialolithiasis associated with parapharyngeal fistula and tonsillolith

Bharat A Panuganti; Randall L Baldassarre; Julie Bykowski; Jacob Husseman

doi:10.1016/j.radcr.2017.06.002

Chronic sialadenitis with sialolithiasis associated with parapharyngeal fistula and tonsillolith

Radiol Case Rep. 2017 Jul 10;12(3):519-522. doi: 10.1016/j.radcr.2017.06.002. eCollection 2017 Sep.

Authors

Bharat A Panuganti¹, Randall L Baldassarre², Julie Bykowski², Jacob Husseman¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California - San Diego, 200 W Arbor Drive #8895, San Diego, CA 92103, USA.
² Department of Radiology, University of California - San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.

Abstract

Sialolithiasis is a common salivary pathology, suggested to affect over 1% of the population by postmortem studies. An uncommon complication of sialadenitis and sialolithiasis is the formation of fistulous tracts to other cervicofacial compartments. Submandibular gland sialocutaneous and sialo-oral fistulae have been sparsely described, but a sialo-pharyngeal fistula manifesting as a tonsillolith has yet to be described. We present an unusual case of a 35-year-old male presenting with recalcitrant neck pain and a presumed tonsillolith in the background of chronic submandibular sialadenitis, subsequently demonstrating a salivary fistula through the parapharyngeal space. We offer a thorough review of the literature to highlight the possibility of migratory sialolithiasis and its complications.

Keywords: Salivary fistula; Sialadenitis; Sialolithiasis; Submandibular gland.

Publication types

Case Reports