Lymphoma presenting as preauricular tumor in unilateral parotid gland agenesis: a case report and review of literature

Bibliographic Details
Title: Lymphoma presenting as preauricular tumor in unilateral parotid gland agenesis: a case report and review of literature
Authors: Aris I. Giotakis, Christos Masaoutis, Alexander Delides, Evangelos I. Giotakis
Source: Journal of Medical Case Reports, Vol 18, Iss 1, Pp 1-5 (2024)
Publisher Information: BMC, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Medicine
Subject Terms: Parotid neoplasms, Small lymphocytic lymphoma, Congenital abnormalities, Sialendoscopy, Case report, Medicine
More Details: Abstract Background Parotid gland agenesis is a rare, congenital, usually asymptomatic disorder. Until now, only 24 cases with unilateral, incidentally found, parotid gland agenesis have been described. Here, we present the first reported case of an ipsilateral preauricular neoplasm in a patient with unilateral parotid gland agenesis. During surgery, the position of the greater auricular- and facial nerves was documented. Furthermore, we performed the first sialendoscopy for this rare disorder to assess the number of duct branches, which might be indicative of the abundance of parotid tissue. Moreover, we looked for sialendoscopic characteristic features that could aid in identifying these patients in the ambulatory setting. Case presentation A 50-year-old Greek man presented with a painless, slowly enlarging mass in the right parotid space. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a complete absence of the right parotid gland without accessory parotid tissue. The right parotid gland was replaced by fatty tissue and the radiologist suggested a benign parotid tumor. Fine needle aspiration was indicative of a reactive lymph node. Sialendoscopy revealed only two branches within the right parotid duct. Surgical resection was performed through a conventional lateral parotidectomy. This revealed typical anatomic position of the greater auricular- and facial nerves despite the parotid tissue agenesis. Histopathology revealed a small lymphocytic lymphoma. Conclusions Surgeons should feel confident to resect tumors of the parotid space in patients with parotid gland agenesis. Reduced branching observed during sialendoscopy might indicate parotid gland agenesis. Physicians should be even more cautious than usual with the watch and wait strategy in patients with tumors of parotid gland agenesis, since the probability of a tumor being a benign salivary gland tumor might be lower than usual.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1752-1947
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/1752-1947
DOI: 10.1186/s13256-024-04553-9
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/0ce84d36473947f1996f9380a374de1d
Accession Number: edsdoj.0ce84d36473947f1996f9380a374de1d
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
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More Details
ISSN:17521947
DOI:10.1186/s13256-024-04553-9
Published in:Journal of Medical Case Reports
Language:English