Social improvement after the Wilke procedure for excessive drooling.

The child with an excessive drooling problem often faces similar social deprivation to those with severe craniofacial malformations. Many of these children have other "strikes against them" (such as cerebral palsy) that, when coupled with drooling, isolate them from social interaction. Many methods have been employed to control drooling but surgery has been most consistently successful. The most popular of these has been the Wilke procedure or a modification of it. Several series have been reported, but a detailed correlation of mechanical success with the effects on social activity has not been reported. We reviewed a series of 23 cases of Wilke-type surgery. Analysis of the results showed a convincing improvement in social activity after successful surgery. The Wilke procedure enjoys a relatively high rate of success in preventing excessive drooling, which seems to offer a dramatic improvement in social contact enjoyment.