1991 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 838-850
Pleomorphic adenoma is the most common salivary gland tumor. This tumor is most frequently seen in the parotid gland.
Two cases of recurrent pleomorphic adenoma in the parotid gland, which occurred in sisters, are reported. Ramsay-Hunt syndrome was complicated with the tumor in one case.
Case 1: A 75-year-old female patient, complained of the right facial palsy with herpes zoster in the oral cavity and auricle, and a recurrent tumor in the right parotid gland. The mass was well-demarcated and movable. After many investigations, the clinical diagnosis was a recurrent tumor of the parotid gland with Ramsay-Hunt syndrome. She was treated with intravenous administration of adenine arabinoside and stellate ganglion block. Under general anesthesia, the tumor was resected by superficial parotidectomy, and the exposed facial nerve was covered with a sternomastoid muscular flap to prevent Frey syndrome which often occurs after this kind of operation.
Case 2: A 61-year-old female patient, a sister of case 1, complained of a recurrent tumor in the left parotid gland. The mass was multiple and adhered to the covered skin.
After many investigations, the clinical diagnosis was a recurrent tumor of the parotid gland. Under general anesthesia, the tumor was resected by superficial parotidectomy together with removal of the covered skin, and the exposed facial nerve was covered with a sternomastoid muscular flap. The skin defect was treated with a splint thickness skin graft.
After surgery, the patients showed no facial palsy and no evidence of tumor recurrence.
We usually classify pleomorphic adenoma into four subclasses. One case presented in this article was of myxomatous type, and the other of intermediate type.
Recurrent pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland which occurred in the same family has not been reported to our knowledge. No case of primary or recurrent pleomorphic adenoma complicated with Ramsay-Hunt syndrome has also been reported.
