Vascular hamartoma of the parotid gland.

Hamartomas of the parotid gland are highly unusual. We present a case of a vascular hamartoma of the parotid gland arising as a 1.5 cm mass in a 5-year-old girl. As far as we are aware, no other case with the same features has been reported. We present this case to generate greater consideration of hamartomas as part of the differential diagnosis of parotid lesions, and to reflect over the criteria used to identify a hamartoma from other parotid lesions, as there appears to be some confusion in the literature. 2014 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.