[Bypass whartonostomy (author's transl)].

Submaxillary salivary retention, associated with the typical sign of a painful swelling, is usually but not specifically due to the presence of stones. Other factors may indeed be involved (reflex secretory dysfunction, stenosis from a scar, inflammation or tumor of wharton's duct). The authors describe a technique, employed in 14 patients, which involves a permanent bypass of "salivary flow" by the creation of a new excretory orifice in wharton's duct proximal to the obstacle producing salivary stasis. This technique is used as a complement to treatment of the cause of salivary retention, and appears to improve long-term results especially in some types of disorders due to submaxillary stones.