serous otitis media in pre-school children

introduction: salivary gland tumors are relatively rare and constitute 3-4% of all head and neck neoplasms. the majority (70%) of salivary gland tumors arise in the parotid gland. recommended treatment for a parotid mass is surgical excision with a surrounding cuff of normal tissue to prevent recurrence. materials and methods: this is a retrospective study of 300 patients who were operated by a single surgeon for parotidectomy over a 20-year period in ghaem hospital, mashhad, iran. the patients' age, sex, operation findings, pathology report and type of surgery (parotidectomy or mastoidectomy) were analyzed. results: in 25 cases we had to find the nerve in a retrograde fashion by finding the distal branches and dissecting backwards to reach the mass, whereas in 275 patients the trunk of the facial nerve was approached in a conventional antegrade fashion. twelve cases needed some sort of repair on the nerve due to a trauma in the surgical field, either grafting or anastomosis was done. interestingly mastoidectomy was required in 5 of our cases. the aim of these mastoidectomies was to eradicate the malignancy in cases where a perineural invasion was present. it also gave us a chance to find a normal proximal nerve ending in order to perform a safe nerve reconstruction (grafting or anastomosis). conclusion: mastoidectomy and facial nerve anastomosis may be required in parotid surgery.