Determining the number of intraparotid lymph nodes: postmortem examination.

BACKGROUND

The parotid gland is one of the metastatic drainage areas for malignant tumours of the head and neck area. In this study, we aimed to define the accurate number and distribution of intraparotid lymph nodes in the 84 glands of 42 fresh cadavers for implementing the data for the clinical practice.

METHODS

Bilateral total parotidectomies were performed. The lobes were separated, fixed with formalin, cut into thick slices, embedded in paraffin and serially sectioned. 2 μm thick sections were stained and examined histopathologically.

RESULTS

No nodes were found in 4 of 84 superficial parotid lobes and in 58 of 84 deep parotid lobes.

CONCLUSIONS

Sentinel lymph node biopsy failure may be related to the absence of intraparotid lymphoid tissue. Although the superficial intraparotid lymph nodes are a first echelon of head and neck tumours, involvement of these does not allow us to exclude the possibility of involvement of the deep lobes.