Does routine preoperative imaging of parotid tumours affect surgical management decision making?
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether preoperative radiologic imaging of parotid tumours would alter the surgical approach to complete eradication of the parotid tumours. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 173 patients with parotid tumours who underwent removal of parotid tumours at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, from 2000 to 2002. Each patient presented with a single, unilateral parotid tumour. Ninety-eight patients underwent preoperative radiologic imaging prior to definitive surgeries. The remaining 75 patients did not undergo preoperative imaging before surgery. RESULTS: Our study had shown that patients with superficial lobe parotid tumours did not require preoperative imaging as it did not affect the surgical management approach. On the contrary, for patients with parotid tumours clinically involving the deep lobe or parapharyngeal space, preoperative imaging often provides important additional information that may alter the surgical approach to eradication of parotid
