Sialographic findings in Wharton duct evagination

Abstract

Ductal evagination is a rare condition affecting the Wharton duct. The aim of this study was to establish the incidence, imaging features and clinical significance of ductal evagination in patients undergoing submandibular gland sialography. The sialographic findings and reports of 322 patients undergoing submandibular gland sialography during the period 1998-2007 were retrospectively reviewed. Ductal evagination was identified on sialograms as a unique diverticulum, filled with contrast medium, of the Wharton duct, with a narrow neck and a blind end. A ductal evagination was found in 5/322 patients with swelling and pain in the submandibular gland. It was always located in the middle tract of the Wharton duct. Other findings were: in 5/5 patients, an enlargement of the primary and secondary ducts due to sialodochitis; in 3/5 patients, salivary stones; in 1/5 patients, a sinuous distal tract of the Wharton duct; in 2/5 patients, a stenosis of the proximal tract of the Wharton duct. In our series, the incidence of wharton duct evagination was 1.6% incidence. It may represent a form of duct wall weakness although its cause is uncertain. It is, however, a condition that needs to be highlighted on sialograms for eventual inflammatory consequences or in guiding sialoendoscopy to avoid eventual ductal perforation.