[On the value of auxiliary findings in parotid surgery (author's transl)]

The value of the individual examinations and tests that were carried out before and during surgery of tumors within the parotid was evaluated on the basis of a major number of surgical cases. Most indications for surgery were based, however, solely on the clinical examinations if the tumor was isolated in the parenchyma, well-differentiated and mobile. The radiological examinations are of importance only if a differential diagnosis is to be made to determine lithiasis, foreign bodies and sclerotic processes. It is of no relevance for pure tumor diagnosis. Sialography and scintigraphy are of a certain value for diagnostic purposes, both methods, however, are too vague in tumor diagnosis and may lead to wrong results. Still, frozen section and exploratory excision are the most reliable approaches for determining in vague cases the optimal extent of excision in accordance with the respective state of the growth. Needle biopsy was deliberately avoided in tumor patients since the danger of a propagation of tumor cells in certain types of tumor--in particular the pleomorphic adenoma--must not be neglected.