“Salivary Gland Diseases - Surgical and Medical Management” by Robert Lee Witt

The book Salivary Gland Diseases and Medical-Surgical Management, Robert Lee Witt (ed), Thieme, 1st. edition (2005), in English, contains 272 pages, rich with illustrations, photomicrographs and radiographs images, surgical and clinics that complement and enrich the text.

It is a book that discusses the salivary glands and their various disorders in a comprehensive and didactic. More than 30 authors from different areas such as otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, plastic surgery and reconstructive surgery cranio-maxillo-facial surgery, pathology, radiology, oncology and radiotherapy, participate in its 17 chapters, which are a reference not only for clinicians and Surgeons who work in these areas, as for graduate students and residents who need a reference text on the subject.

The early chapters are devoted to basic issues about the anatomy, physiology, histology and imaging of the salivary glands. Concern about the clinical application of theoretical concepts makes reading exciting and enjoyable. The discussion of the anatomy is directed to the topographic relationships important for the surgical treatment of salivary glands. A detailed presentation of the physiology of the salivary glands is accompanied by a description of pathophysiological processes that occur in systemic diseases (eg Sjöegren syndrome) after radiotherapy of the head and neck, with the use of medications made xerostomic, among others.

Diseases and trivial as sialodenitis Sialolithiasis are highlighted in chapters at the same time comprehensive and textbooks on the differential diagnosis, diagnostic methods and therapeutic procedures, both clinical and surgical.

The chapters that deal with benign tumors, cysts and lesions pseudotumors, and metastatic malignant tumors of the salivary glands provide an overview of the various diseases that can afflict them, addressing clinical, histologic, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.

Special chapters on salivary diseases in pediatric patients (including approach drooling and aspiration of saliva), the use of radiotherapy in the treatment of malignant neoplasms, xerostomia, rehabilitation of facial nerve palsy and legal perspectives on medical diseases of the salivary glands complement the text.

Finally, a chapter containing an atlas of surgical approaches so well illustrated the major surgeries for tumors of the parotid glands, submandibular, minor salivary gland and parapharyngeal space.

The limitations of the work just caught our attention. There are some typos and imprecise references throughout the text, inaccuracies understandable for a first edition. The chapter emphasizes the imaging evaluation of benign and malignant neoplastic processes of the salivary glands by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Other imaging techniques still used in some situations such as ultrasound, radiography and sialography are mentioned but not adequately illustrated.

The reader is often referred to other chapters when reading, what may seem a nuisance to some, but serves a higher purpose. The text was systematically reviewed to avoid overlapping information and contradictions between chapters.

In a nutshell, this is an interesting reference for all those who deal with disorders of the salivary glands. Thanks to the teaching with which the subjects are presented, this book can be used both as an introductory text as a reference for advanced readers in different levels of training and performance.