The Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport is providing an exciting new service that will allow patients to take advantage of innovative technology and avoid major surgery and hospital admission. The new service is for patients who are experiencing problems with their saliva glands and offers them the option of outpatient treatment. The department is currently the only place in Wales who are using the technology to diagnose and treat salivary grand problems such as stones within the gland. In 2007 NICE endorsed these techniques in the management of salivary gland problems. The maxillofacial department in the Royal Gwent Hospital have moved to be the first in Wales to pioneer these techniques and offer this service to our patients.

Mr Simon Jones and his team in the maxillofacial surgery department have recently been identified by the Bevan Commission as a 2018 Health Technology Exemplar for this innovative new service.

Mr Jones said “The new stone breaker has revolutionised the treatment of larger salivary stones. In the Royal Gwent Hospital we are now able remove these stone in a short outpatient appointment. This is much kinder to the patient compared to surgery to remove the whole gland along with the stone as an inpatient.”

The new service will provide a significant cost saving to the health board but more importantly is less risk to the patient and reduced burden to attend hospital.

The service takes referrals from GPs and other colleagues within the trust and some patients have been referred from other hospitals in Wales who are currently unable to offer this service.