Diffusion-weighted imaging of an abscess in the parotid gland

We herein present a case of a microbiologically proven parotid abscess which was diagnosed using magnetic resonance imaging. The parotid abscess showed no contrast enhancement in the center, however, peripheral enhancement was observed on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images. This lesion showed hyperintensity on diffusion-weighted (DW) images with a reduced apparent diffusion coefficient in both the enhanced and non-enhanced portions. DW imaging was thus found to be helpful for accurately diagnosing the parotid abscess.