Diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties in parotid tumor pathology – comments on a clinical case

Abstract

Introduction. The parotid gland, the largest salivary gland, can be the site of various pathology. Any swelling located in the parotid gland requires thorough investigations. Symptoms usually include a painless, unilateral tumor, with a slow evolution. Histology establishes the therapeutic plan. Case presentation. We present the case of a 60 years-old patient, known with a tumoral mass in the parotid region for 3 years, who came to our clinic for a history of 3 months persistent dysphonia. Endoscopic laryngoscopy revealed a tumoral mass occupying two thirds of the right vocal cord, covered in keratin plates, with normal mobility of both vocal cords. From the patient’s record, we note an ultrasound fine needle aspiration biopsy, performed at the onset of the parotid tumoral mass, which did not reveal any malignancy criteria. Conclusions. Differential diagnosis for parotid gland pathology must include inflammatory, infectious and tumoral conditions. A complete set of investigations must be performed in order to establish the therapeutic approach. Treatment, depending on the histological type of the tumor, is commonly surgical and can be followed by radiotherapy and in some cases, chemotherapy.

Keywords

• parotid tumor
• diagnostic difficulties
• endoscopic laryngoscopy