Everyday Oral Surgery Making Sense of Salivary Gland Disease (with Dr. Ben Hechler)
Today’s episode is all about what happens when things go wrong in the salivary glands, and what to do about it! As Dr. Ben Hechler explains, there are two categories of salivary gland disease (infectious and tumor masses), and retrograde tracking of bacteria is overwhelmingly the most common cause. You will hear about the different factors that lead to the retrograde tracking of bacteria, other factors that result in salivary gland disease, the typical symptoms that a patient with a salivary gland infection will present with, and the ways to diagnose and treat that infection. Ben also talks about the types of tumors that are most often found in the salivary glands, why it is easier to diagnose a tumor in the minor salivary glands (of which there are hundreds) than in the major carotid and submandibular glands, and how to deal with trauma to the salivary glands.
Key Points From This Episode:
- Our three major salivary glands.
- The two broad categories of salivary gland disease.
- Symptoms that a patient with salivary gland disease will typically present with.
- The first steps that you should take if you suspect a patient may have salivary gland disease.
- Types of imaging that Ben suggests using to assess the situation.
- Different causes of salivary infections in the submandibular gland and the carotid gland.
- How to treat salivary gland infections.
- Some of the systemic diseases that affect the salivary glands.
- An explanation of what psilosis is (and what causes it).
- The most common types of tumors found in the salivary glands.
- The challenge of diagnosing tumors in the major salivary glands.
- Why Ben always advocates for complete transparency with patients.
- Ben’s approach when biopsy and MRI results don’t match up.
- The indications for considering neck dissections for salivary gland tumors.
- Advice for dealing with trauma to the salivary glands.
- How to diagnose and treat a ranula.
- Problems that can occur in the accessory parotid gland.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Dr. Ben Hechler on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-hechler/
Understanding Consciousness by Max Velmans — https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Consciousness-Max-Velmans/
Do No Harm by Henry Marsh — https://bookshop.org/p/books/do-no-harm-stories-of-life-death-and-brain-surgery-henry-mars
The Watcher — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14852808/
Everyday Oral Surgery Website — https://www.everydayoralsurgery.com/
Everyday Oral Surgery on Instagram — https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hirsch-126210bb/
Everyday Oral Surgery on LinkedIn — https://www.instagram.com/everydayoralsurgery/
Everyday Oral Surgery on Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/EverydayOralSurgery/
Dr. Grant Stucki Email — grantstucki@gmail.com
Dr. Grant Stucki Phone — 720-441-6059