What is Parotidectomy?
Parotidectomy is a surgical operation to remove the parotid which is a large salivary gland located in front of the ear and slightly below it. The most common reasons for removing all or part of this gland are a tumor, chronic infection, or obstruction of the saliva outflow causing chronic enlargement of the gland. Surgeons describe the parotid gland as having two lobes, superficial and deep, separated by the facial nerve that makes the face move and the eye close.
