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Parapharyngeal space tumors: another consideration for otalgia and temporomandibular disorders
Courtney C Grosskopf1, Arthur S Kuperstein, Bert W O'Malley
1Department of Oral Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Background:
Parapharyngeal space (PPS) tumors are rare, accounting for 0.5% of all head and neck neoplasms. PPS tumors are difficult to diagnose due to limited presenting signs and symptoms and because of their location deep within the neck.
Methods And Results:
A 60-year-old woman presented with complaints of otalgia, which appeared to be consistent with a temporomandibular disorder (TMD). Due to disproportionate symptoms, an MRI of the temporomandibular joints was ordered. The MRI revealed a mass within the PPS, which was later diagnosed as a mucoepidermoid carcinoma. A literature search failed to reveal otalgia, and facial pain, thought to be related to a TMD, as the primary presenting symptoms of a PPS neoplasm.
Conclusion:
Patients presenting with disproportionate signs and symptoms of a TMD should be evaluated with advanced imaging to rule out occult pathology.
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