Tumour recurrence after surgical removal of parotid pleomorphic salivary adenoma using a retrograde facial nerve dissection technique.

Recurrence after surgical removal of parotid pleomorphic salivary adenoma using retrograde facial nerve dissection is not well researched. We adopted retrograde nerve dissection for parotid surgery for benign disease as a standard procedure in 1995. The objective of this study was to establish the rate of recurrence of primary tumours associated with the technique after removal of parotid pleomorphic salivary adenoma. We recruited 59 patients over a 16-year (1995-2011) period and collected the data prospectively. Eight patients were excluded as they had died or had been lost to follow up. Male:female ratio was 16:35 and age range was 15-69 years. The mean tumour size as measured on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was 27.4mm. Thirty-eight patients had superficial parotidectomy, 8 had total parotidectomy, and 5 had partial superficial parotidectomy. Mean follow up from the date of operation was 104 months (median 98, range 17-171). All patients were reviewed and examined in 2011 to establish whether the tumour had recurred. One patient had developed a solitary nodular recurrence 8 years after the initial procedure. Recurrence was 2%. The rate of clinically apparent recurrence after parotidectomy for pleomorphic salivary adenoma in this study is low and is comparable with others reported.