Parotid gland surgery

What is the parotid gland?

The parotid is a gland is located in front of the ear just below the cheekbone.  It is the largest salivary gland and lumps in this gland can be either benign or cancerous. 

What you may be referred for:

• In Australia, the most common cancerous lump in the parotid gland originates from skin cancer in the face or scalp, most commonly squamous cell carcinoma. 

• Benign lesions of the parotid gland are most commonly pleomorphic adenoma or warthin's tumor. 

• Cancerous lesions can also arise originate from the parotid gland itself, the most common of these are mucoepidermoid carcinoma, acinic cell carcinoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma.

What to expect?

Surgery is the standard treatment for most parotid masses. The goals of parotid surgery are two fold - to resect the tumor while keeping the facial nerve intact. The facial nerve is a fine mesh of nerves that control facial expression, including eye closure and smile. In a small number of patients it is not possible to keep a part of the nerve intact due to tumor location, size or invasion.  Dr Wang routinely uses 4 nerve monitoring leads during a parotid operation to provide additional monitoring of your facial nerve. 

For benign conditions, Dr Wang will use a facelift incision to hide the scar within existing skin creases and in front of and behind the ear. She will use fat from another part of the body to restore any contour changes if desired. For malignant disease, Dr Wang may use of microsurgery to restore skin coverage and contour after surgery and to faciliate expedite recover if additional radiotherapy is required. 

A small drain is placed at the time of surgery to drain any saliva, fluid or blood from the wound. The drain is usually removed before you are discharged from hospital after 1-2 days.