Background: The morbidity of treating benign parotid tumors is an important issue because the majority of patients are young. We therefore undertook this study to evaluate the outcome for these patients treated at the Princess Margaret Hospital.
Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on all patients registered with benign parotid tumors between 1970 and 1987.
Results: Seventy-six patients were included in this review; postoperative radiotherapy (XRT) was administered to 55 patients. Median follow-up time was 12.5 years. Postoperative XRT was particularly important for patients with recurrent disease. The risk of both temporary and permanent facial nerve paralyses increased with each operation. 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.