Parotid masses: evaluation of diagnostic modalities

ABSTRACT

This is a retrospective study of 52 cases of parotid swelling at Prince Rashid Ben Al-Hassan Hospital over 2 years period between April 1993 and August 1995, to study the pre and post-operative evaluation of parotid masses. Clinical presentation, computerized tomography, ultrasound and fine needle aspiration cytology were evaluated. Out of 52 cases, 11 patients [21%] had non-neoplastic lesions, 25 [48%] had benign neoplasms and 16 [31%] had malignant neoplasms, of which 9 [17%] were of primary parotid origin, and 7[13%] metastatic lesions. An asymptomatic mass was the most common presentation. We conclude that computerized tomography was found to be more accurate than ultrasound in localization of parotid masses, but both were inaccurate in differentiating benign from malignant lesions