Unusual parotid tumors.

The patient presenting with a mass lesion of the parotid gland is frequently found to have a mixed tumor of salivary tissue origin. However, less common lesions occur in the anatomical region of the parotid gland. These pathological entities deserve consideration in the differential diagnosis. This report presents nine patients with unusual lesions occurring in the parotid region. These regions include cervicofacial actinomycosis, branchial cleft cyst, parapharyngeal tumors, bony lesion of the mandible, non-parotid origin malignant tumor, and metastatic malignant tumors. Each class of lesions demonstrated is also discussed.