Extracapsular dissection of pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland through minimal preauricular and retroauricular incisions in children.

We evaluate treatment outcomes in children with benign parotid neoplasms who underwent extracapsular dissection of the tumor using minimal incisions. Nine pediatric patients (4 boys and 5 girls) with pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland were treated with extracapsular dissection via preauricular and retroauricular incisions. The mean age of the patients at the time of surgery was 9.4 years. The size of the tumors ranged from 1.5 × 1.4 to 3.5 × 3.0 cm. Seven tumors were located in the superficial lobe of the parotid gland and 2 were located in the deep lobe. All histologically confirmed cases of malignancy were excluded. All 9 operations were performed successfully. No patient exhibited any permanent postoperative complication. Neither hematomas of the parotid region nor salivary fistula occurred. One patient had slight transient postoperative facial paresis. The scars were almost invisible. All patients had excellent cosmetics and complete function of the facial nerve. The patients were followed up for 5.1 to 7.0 years. Tumor recurrence developed in 1 patient who subsequently underwent curative parotidectomy. Extracapsular dissection through preauricular and retroauricular incisions is a feasible technique, providing excellent cosmetic outcome in the treatment of benign parotid neoplasms in children.