The surgical management of recurrent parotitis

Twenty-eight parotidectomies were carried out upon 26 patients with chronic parotitis. The lesion considered is chronic inflammation of the parotid gland associated with such intraglandular defects as sialadenitis secondary to ductal obstruction by calculi, cellular debris, stenosis or infiltrating lesions, that is, Mikulicz's or Sjogren's syndromes and sialoangiectasis, either primary or secondary to obstruction of the duct. Seventeen near total parotidectomies were done without significant complications or a recurrence of symptoms. Eleven superficial parotidectomies were performed in which symptoms recurred on the 12th postoperative day in one patient. No permanent weakness of the facial nerve occurred in any of the 28 parotidectomies. Based upon this experience, near total parotidectomy with removal of the parotid duct can be performed safely and should be the procedure of choice in patients with chronic, relapsing parotid sialadenitis.