Frey's Syndrome Surgical Treatment After Parotidectomy: A Scoping Review

Background/Objectives: Frey's syndrome surgical treatment may be either prophylactic or therapeutic. The aim of this study is to summarize the state of the art in Frey's syndrome surgical treatment after parotidectomy and review indications, advantages, and disadvantages of different surgical options. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews; to fulfill the research enquiries, four different electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science) were searched using the PICO protocol and key words in Frey's syndrome surgical treatment. Results: A total of 15 articles met the inclusion criteria. Multiple surgical strategies have been developed over the last fifty years in an attempt to treat gustatory sweating; nevertheless, the surgical results are not always as effective as desired, and a gold standard has not been developed yet. Within the limitations of the study, a shift in surgical approaches over the years has been noted: tympanic neurectomy was the most frequently employed technique until the 1980s; more recently, local flaps interposed between the parotid tissue and skin layer have been the treatment of choice. Conclusions: Surgery is a viable option in Frey's syndrome treatment, and it is indicated in cases of medical treatment inefficacy, tumor recurrence, invalidating symptoms, and unaesthetic surgical sequelae.