Abstract

This study is a retrospective review of the clinical records of patients operated on for parapharyngeal space (PPS) tumors. Between April 2005 to September 2011, 8 patients (2 men, 6 women, mean age 61.3 years) with primary PPS tumors underwent surgical resections by the same operating team. Different surgical approaches were used according to the type of lesion, exact location, and size: transcervical in 3 patients, transcervical-transparotid in 4 patients, and transparotid in 1 patient. Mandibulotomy was performed in 3 patients (mandibular swing in 1, subcutaneous mandibular splitting in 2). The PPS tumors were all successfully removed with no significant perioperative complications. One patient presented with Frey syndrome 1 year later. Histological examination of the resected tumors showed 6 salivary gland tumors and 2 schwannomas. Of the 6 salivary gland tumors, 2 were malignant. Our experience in the treatment of PPS tumors confirms the importance of preoperative assessment before every surgical resection in order to plan surgical treatment with a safe approach and which reduces aesthetic/functional damage. Intraoperative monitoring of multiple cranial nerves using NIM nerve monitoring systems is useful in the identification and preservation of neurological function in schwannoma.

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