2016 Volume 26 Issue 1 Pages 61-64
First bite syndrome (FBS), a complication associated with surgical removal of a tumor in the parapharyngeal space, is characterized by pain in the parotid area with the first bite of food, and improvement with each bite. The pain is worst with the first meal of the day, but it can develop even when thinking of eating. The literature implicates injuries of the sympathetic nerve as the cause, leading to parasympathetic nerve supersensitivity and spasms of myoepithelial cells in the parotid gland. During the two decades since April 1994, we have treated five patients who developed FBS after operations to resect the parotid tumor or parapharyngeal tumor. Herein, we report the clinical features and medications associated with each case.
