Sialoendoscopy combined with an internal stent and postoperative massage as a comprehensive treatment of delayed I131-induced parotitis

A common complication of radioiodine (I131) treatment of thyroid cancer is parotitis. Here we describe our clinical experience in treating delayed I131-induced parotitis using sialoendoscopy together with an internal stent and postoperative massage. In this retrospective cohort study we reviewed 32 patients who were treated in that way under general anaesthesia between July 2010 and March 2015. Their age, sex, and the time to development of the parotitis were collected from the hospital's database. All patients were evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS), sialography, and computed tomography preoperatively. The analyses of VAS scores were made during postoperative follow-up visits. We used the paired Student's t test and one-way ANOVA to assess the significance of differences, and probabilities of < 0.05 were accepted as significant. The mean (SD) age of the 32 patients was 50 (11) years, and they developed symptoms of delayed parotitis after a mean (SD) of 12 (11) months. The mean time between treatment with I131 and sialoendoscopy was 26 (10) months. Ductal stenosis was the most common sialoendoscopic feature, together with mucous plugs and fibrosis. Fifty of the 56 ducts were successfully dilated by sialoendoscopy, and VAS scores significantly decreased from a preoperative 7.3 (1.1) to a postoperative 3.3 (2.1) (p = 0.000) during follow-up of 3 - 41 months. Sialoendoscopic interventions combined with an internal stent and postoperative massage may be optimal comprehensive treatment for delayed I131-induced parotitis.