The first salivary gland multidisciplinary meeting organised in Geneva in 2002 catalysed our old project of founding a Salivary Gland Society. Thirty faculty members of 10 different specialities (Otolaryngology head and neck surgery, Immunology, Pathology, Maxillo-facial surgery, Oral surgery, Radiology, Biochemistry, Physiology, Oncology, Infectiology) and 15 countries joined the meeting, as well as 400 participants from all specialities. This attempt to unify the different specialities was very successful and encouraging.

Although ENT specialists have been involved in Salivary Glands since ever, and although this surgery requires a particular training, no subspecialty society existed until now. Nevertheless, many specialists focused their attention on these diseases, concentrating the knowledge in various centres around the globe. In the recent years, we have been observing an increase of scientific reports in the salivary gland field, with – among others- a high interest towards minimal invasive techniques of intraductal endoscopy of salivary glands, called sialendoscopy, enabling more conservative approaches of non-tumoral conditions. 

On the other hand, there has been an obvious increase of research publications concerning salivary glands of our colleagues from different specialities. These specialities look forward to better interdisciplinary communication and exchange of ideas, in order to achieve easier understanding of salivary disorders. In several instances, also in ENT-HNS, history has shown that joining different specialities dealing with the same topic has proven efficiency.

ISGS

The European Society (ESGS) is one continental branch of the ISGS (International Salivary Gland Society (www.isgs.ch)), unifying all continental salivary gland societies, being up to now the Japanese Salivary Gland Society, the Chinese Salivary Gland Society, the European Salivary Gland Society, and the upcoming American Salivary Gland Society. The Honorary President of ISGS is Professor Eugene Myers from Pittsburgh. The ESGS is one of the 14 founding European Societies of the newly created European Academy of ORL-Head and Neck Surgery.

ESTC

The European Salivary Gland Society support also the European Sialendoscopy Training Centre (ESTC) created in 2002 in Geneva. This centre aims to train clinicians and procedures associated with diagnostic and therapeutic sialendoscopy, to organise international courses in order to allows for exchange of knowledge, experiences and advances gained by clinical leaders disseminated around the world. The courses consist in hands on training on pig heads, conferences, debates, and live surgery. Information about the centre can be obtained at www.sialendoscopy.com.

F.Marchal
General Secretary