Some Aspects of Parotid Surgery

Abstract

Improved methods of diagnosis, notably sialography, are of valuable assistance in management of parotid lesions. The most important surgical consideration is the relation of the gland to the facial nerve; any operation within the glandular substance carries the risk of facial nerve damage. The recurrence of mixed parotid tumors following simple enucleation seems to be satisfactorily explained by the finding of capsular excrescences and of microscopic evidence of prolongations of tumor extending into and beyond the capsule, as well as by absence or incompleteness of the capsule in many cases. At present it would seem rational to direct therapy with the attitude that mixed parotid tumors are potentially malignant.