A 46-year-old woman noticed swelling and tenderness of the subauricular region on the left side four months ago. The growth had increased in size to the point of deviating the palatoglossal arch medially.
Sialogram of the left parotid gland and CT scanning revealed the tumor mass inside the left mandibular ramus, and its contour was fairly well defined. A clinical diagnosis of a benign tumor derived from the deep lobe of the parotid gland was made.
The patient was admitted and resection of the tumor was perfomed under general anesthesia. The great auricular nerve was transplanted in place of the facial nerve. In the histologic examination, the basophilic tumor cells were arranged in acinar groups, the tumor cell nucleus was rounded and the cytoplasm was slightly granular. The granules were PAS-positive and mucicarmin-negative. Acinic cell tumor was thus diagnosed.
The postoperative course was uneventful, there has been no sign of recurrence of the tumor or metastasis to the lymph nodes or other organs since discharge.
