Bilateral chronic sclerosing sialadenitis of the submandibular glands (Kuttner tumour)

What a re the reasons for the rare simultaneous appearance of bilateral Kuttner tumours? Patients and Methods: We report on a female who presented simultaneously bilateral Kuttner tumours. We present the histologic findings and review the literature. Results: We found 5 patients including our own case. Symptoms indicating systemic disease were lacking with a single exception where xerostomia and rheumatoid arthritis were coexistent, while all others did not show autoimmune sialadenitis. On follow-up, our patient was free of disease following bilateral consecutive submandibulectomy. Conclusions: The reasons for the rare bilateral appearance of Kuttner's tumour reside in its pathogenesis: the defining feature is electrolyte dysfunction of a specific salivary gland often associated with obstructive immune response. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG; Basel.