Accessory parotid gland tumours: 24 years of clinical experience

The accessory parotid gland (APG) is salivary tissue anterior to and anatomically separate from the parotid gland. APG is a common anatomical variation, but APG tumours are extremely rare. The authors report 6 patients with APG tumours emphasizing the diagnosis, clinical features, indications and rationales for different treatment approaches. Patients with primary tumours of the parotid gland or APG tumours who underwent surgical treatment were included. APG tumours comprised 1.23% of overall parotid tumours (6/488) and had a malignancy rate of 33.3% (2/6). There were three male and three female patients with a mean age of 39 years (range 14–70 years). 5 of 6 parotidectomies entailed superficial lobectomy, while one was a total parotidectomy with composite resection of masseter muscle. Concomitant selective lymphadenectomy was carried out in 3 of 6 patients. At 5 years disease-free survival was 83.3%. Mean follow-up was 161 months (range 14–253 months). Although nonsalivary diagnoses frequently occur in the buccal area, APG tumours should be considered in every differential diagnosis in patients presenting with a mid-cheek mass. From oncosurgical, cosmetic and functional standpoints, treatment by facelift parotidectomy or ‘S-incision’ with concomitant superficial lobectomy is the recommended surgical approach; high-grade malignancies require total parotidectomy with regional lymphadenectomy.