Transplantation of the submandibular duct associated with resection for carcinoma.

This article presents a new technique of duct transplantation that should be employed when large portions of the floor of the mouth are to be resected. The incidence of submaxillary duct stenosis was doubled when the transected ducts were disregarded. The consequences of ductal stenosis include fibrotic submaxillary glands that, following resection for carcinoma, may be mistaken for regional metastases. With metastases suspected, the patient may be exposed to any number of invasive diagnostic and treatment modalities that could have been avoided by using the technique described here.