[Tumors of the lateral parapharyngeal space. Our case series]

After a review of the literature, the authors present 20 cases of parapharyngeal tumors which were operated on over the past 13 years at the ENT Clinic of the University of Florence. Although diagnosis is generally made quite late, great improvement has been achieved with the new "imaging" techniques. New and better information has made it possible to choose the most suitable surgical approach. In such cases neoplasm is most frequently observed in young adults; they prove benign in most cases and are of varying oncotypes--most often of a salivary gland or neurogenic origin. Diagnosis is performed by a CT scanner with an intravenous contrast medium and by angiography of the carotid artery. More recently CT sialography and MRI have also been used. The surgical technique (transoral, transcervical, transparotid and transmandibular excision, alone or combined) was chosen according to localization, size and vascularity. Follow-up data show a high incidence of recovery (85%) with acceptable functional results.