Pleomorphic adenoma occurring outside the submandibular gland: a case report of an accessory submandibular gland.

The accessory submandibular gland is a rare anatomic variant and the incidence of pathology reported within an accessory submandibular gland is even rarer. This report describes the case of a 22-year-old woman who presented with a slowly enlarging mass in the submandibular triangle, which on ultrasound examination suggested that it was close to, but not arising from, the submandibular gland. Fine-needle aspiration cytology was consistent with a pleomorphic adenoma. At surgery, the tumor was found to be entirely separate from the submandibular gland. This case presents an extremely rare occurrence of an accessory submandibular gland and, to the authors' knowledge, is the first report of a pleomorphic adenoma occurring within an accessory submandibular gland.