The changing faces of a parotid mass

The development of a neurofibroma in the temporal and parotid regions of th e facial nerve is rare. We report a case occurring in a 32-year-old male, w here the initial presentation was a parotid mass. Cytologically this was in itially thought to be a pleomorphic adenoma. However, the diagnosis was the n changed to a schwannoma and finally a neurofibroma after complete excisio n of the lesion. The case illustrates how fine needle aspiration cytology u nder ultrasound guidance, and even histological examination of an incision biopsy can sometimes fail to give the correct diagnosis. In this case magne tic resonance imaging was used to help plan definitive surgery.