Abstract
Parotitis is often caused by viral or bacterial infections or salivary stones, and rarely by foreign bodies. In this article, we report a case of parotitis caused by a heterotopic hair in the parotid duct. The patient was a female in her 70s. She came to our hospital because of swelling of the left buccal region 3days prior to her first visit. At the time of the initial examination, there was a mild swelling of the left parotid gland and swelling near the left parotid papilla. The CT scan showed no obvious salivary stone or lesion causing the swelling. When the orifice of the parotid duct was pushed open, a black spot was found. When it was pulled, a filamentous foreign body about 8.5cm in length was removed. It was diagnosed histopathologically as a hair. The swelling disappeared afterwards, and no recurrence of parotitis was observed.
