Surgeon-performed ultrasound for the assessment of parotid masses

Studies on parotid gland ultrasound assessments performed specifically by surgeons are seldom reported.

Retrospective series of a single academic surgeon experience, analyzing 70 new parotid masses with evaluable preoperative SP-US characteristics, location measurements, and perioperative events.

31/70 masses were malignant. SP-US characteristics significantly associated with both malignancy and positive margins included extraparenchymal extension, irregular borders, hypervascularity, infiltration, and the lack of deep enhancement. The larger the skin-to-deep-aspect-of-tumor distance, the more likely the tumor was deep to FN. For the 39 cytologically benign tumors, neither CT nor MRI provided additional information to change management except for full delineation of parapharyngeal space extension in 2 cases.

SP-US can help predict parotid mass benignity/malignancy, positive margin risk, and tumor relation to FN. SP-US may be used as the sole imaging in cytologically benign tumors unless the deep tumor extent cannot be identified.