Recurrent Pleomorphic Adenomas of the Parotid Gland

Abstract

The clinical courses, pathological findings and methods of therapy of 9 patients with recurrent benign pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland are discussed and compared with 187 non-recurrent cases treated between 1976 and 1991. Of the 9 patients, 6 were first recurrence case and 8 had received surgical enucleation as a primary operation. The mean interval to first recurrence was 9 years (range 3–18 years). Total or partial parotidectomy was performed, and all 9 patients are well (5.5 years, on the average, after surgery). The histologic characteristic encountered most frequently in the recurrent tumors was a myxoid stroma. The cause of recurrence is most probably an inadequate initial surgical procedure; therefore, partial parotidectomy with preservation of the facial nerve is proposed as an ideal operation for benign tumors of the parotid gland. © 1992, The Society of Practical Otolaryngology. All rights reserved.