Parotid tuberculosis

Parotid gland tuberculosis is an uncommon manifestation of one of the most common infections even in the developing countries, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There are no specific symptoms or clinical signs of parotid tuberculosis, and such an infection most commonly presents as a slow growing painless parotid mass. Because of its rarity, tuberculosis of parotid gland is often mistaken for a malignant growth, and it most commonly gets diagnosed after superficial protidectomy. Complete cure is possible with standard antituberculous therapy. Most of our knowledge about this rare entity comes from case reports and short case series. The authors encountered three cases of parotid tuberculosis in the last 10 years. This article aims at presenting a comprehensive review of all the available literature and thus providing detailed information and an update on parotid tuberculosis and our experience of three cases.