The principle of modern oncological
surgery is to conserve the functional organs or
tissues as much as possible based on eradication of the tumour. For
salivary gland tumours, conservative and functional salivary
surgery, including partial sialoadenectomy as well as anatomical and functional preservation of the
facial nerve, great auricular nerve,
superficial musculo-aponeurotic system (SMAS), and
Stensen's duct, has become increasingly popular. In the present
review, we discuss the following aspects of conservative and functional
surgery in the
treatment of
salivary gland tumours (i) partial superficial parotidectomy (PP) to treat benign
parotid gland tumours, (ii) modification of
surgical incisions to improve cosmetic results, (iii) modification of the surgical approach to decrease
complications, (iv) extracardial
dissection to treat benign superficial parotid tumours, (v) partial sialoadenectomy to treat benign
submandibular gland tumours, and (vi) I
brachytherapy to preserve
facial nerves. The majority of the operated parotid or
submandibular glands are preserved, and surgical
complications are also decreased. Conservative and functional
surgery plays a significant
role in maintaining normal
salivary gland function and in improving
patients'
quality of life during the
treatment of
salivary gland tumours and thus should be further promoted.