BENIGN PAROTID ADENOMAS - A REVIEW OF THE PRINCESS-MARGARET-HOSPITAL EXPERIENCE

Background. The morbidity of treating benign parotid tumors is an impo rtant issue because the majority of patients are young. We therefore u ndertook this study to evaluate the outcome for these patients treated at the Princess Margaret Hospital. Methods. A retrospective review wa s conducted on all patients registered with benign parotid tumors betw een 1970 and 1987. Results. Seventy-six patients were included in this review; postoperative radiotherapy (XRT) was administered to 55 patie nts. Median follow-up time was 12.5 years. Postoperative XRT was parti cularly important for patients with recurrent disease. The risk of bot h temporary and permanent facial nerve paralyses increased with each o peration. No patients in this study developed a malignancy.Conclusions . We recommend that all patients with benign parotid tumors be treated with a complete parotidectomy with preservation of the facial nerve. Consideration to postoperative XRT should be given to patients in whom there was tumor spillage, residual disease, or recurrences. (C) 1995 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.