Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 29, 2026
High-frequency Ultrasound Imaging of Mouse Cervical Lymph Nodes
Published on: July 25, 2015
Parotidectomy in patients with head and neck cutaneous melanoma with cervical lymph node involvement
Danique M S Berger1, Martinus M van Veen1, Max F Madu2
1Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute - Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Background:
Parotidectomy in melanoma of the coronal scalp and face with clinically involved cervical lymph node metastasis is based on predicted cervical lymphatic drainage described by O'Brien.
Methods:
In total, 40 parotidectomies with en bloc therapeutic neck dissection were retrospectively analyzed.
Results:
Lymphatic spread of melanoma to the parotid lymph nodes was observed in 10 of 40 specimens (25%). Eight of the 10 parotid-positive patients developed a recurrence vs 17 of the 30 parotid-negative patients (P = 0.28). There were no differences in overall survival, melanoma-specific survival, and disease-free survival between the parotid-positive and parotid-negative patients.
Conclusion:
Although in this series no survival differences were found, parotidectomy still merits a sustained role in therapeutic neck dissection procedures to improve regional control and to prevent facial nerve damage after surgery for a second relapse from occult metastases in the parotid.
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