Surgical treatment of malignant tumors of the parotid gland

The results of treatment of 129 malignant tumors of the parotid gland are reviewed. Tumors with a low to moderate degree of malignancy comprised 67 per cent of the group; the five year recurrence rate was 27 per cent and the survival rate 92 per cent. Tumors with a high degree of malignancy comprised 33 per cent of the group; the five year recurrence rate was 35 per cent and the survival rate 60 per cent. The treatment of the former group should most often be parotidectomy, occasionally with preservation of the facial nerve, while that of the latter should be parotidectomy, with sacrifice of the nerve, and radical neck dissection.