Surgical Management of Drooling in Children

Sialorrhoea is a manageable and modifiable condition. Treatment for drooling relies on multidisciplinary and multimodal therapy. Surgery is indicated in the right context. The options of surgery include direct surgery on salivary glands or ducts and indirect surgery on craniofacial and airway structures that support drooling care. The options of surgery are broad: parotid and submandibular duct ligation, sublingual gland excision, submandibular duct diversion/transposition/rerouting, submandibular gland excision and a combination of the above. Risks and benefits of each procedure differ from patient to patient depending on the drooling phenotype, underlying medical conditions and the long-term trajectory of the patient.