Adverse post‐operative events of salivary gland biopsies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. (13th September 2021) - Valdez, Remberto M. A.
Abstract: Objectives: The study aimed to perform a systematic review and meta‐analysis of the complications following major and minor salivary gland biopsy. Materials and Methods: Observational studies assessing postoperative complications of minor salivary gland biopsy and indexed at Medline/PubMed, EMBASE, Cinahl, LILACS, or Scopus were selected. This review was registered under the protocol number: CRD42020211169. The level of significance considered was 0.05, and the R software (The R Foundation) was used for the meta‐analysis. Results: Twenty‐seven studies reporting 3208 patients were included in this review. The combined prevalence of postsurgical complications was 11% (95% CI, 8 to 13%, p = 0.01). The percentage of the combined prevalence of neurological complications was 3% (95% CI, 1–6%, p = 0.01). The surgical technique did not influence the frequency of overall and neurological complications. Conclusion: Minor salivary gland biopsies are a safe and predictable procedure that should be performed on the lower lip. Postoperative complications are more common than previously reported, but permanent complaints are uncommon.