Foreign bodies of submandibular gland and Wharton’s duct: a review of literature

Foreign bodies of submandibular duct are rarely but consistently reported in literature. They usually present as obstructive submandibular sialadenitis. The diagnosis can be challenging because of rarity of such an event, and inability of traditional diagnostic methods to detect the foreign body. We sought to assemble the previous published literature to delineate the presentation, investigation and management of submandibular gland foreign bodies. We performed a comprehensive systematic literature review of PubMed, and Google Scholar, databases from 1960 to 2019, and analyzed the case reports and research articles proclaiming detection of foreign body in the submandibular gland or its duct. We also included a case found in our hospital in the review. A total of 28 articles full filled our criteria. The earliest article found was from year 1962 and latest in 2019, amounting to 28 research articles on this topic in last 58 years. The age ranged from 9 years to 78 years, with average age of 38.7 year. The left Submandibular gland was involved in 18 cases (75%), and right in 6 cases (25%). There was a varied array of foreign bodies retrieved. Patients underwent sialadenectomy, duct excision, intervention by milking, probing or with a forceps or more recently interventional sialendoscopy. To approach an early diagnosis, a patient history needs to be believed. High resolution oral ultrasonography with interventional sialendoscopy can become the hallmark of a future approach to submandibular duct foreign bodies.