Pleomorphic Adenoma of the Parotid Gland and the Parapharyngeal Space: Two Diametrically Opposing Surgical Philosophies for the Same Histopathologic Entity?

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the histopathologic findings in parotid and parapharyngeal pleomorphic adenomas and draw conclusions concerning the surgical strategy.

Methods: Retrospective study of medical charts of patients with resected pleomorphic adenomas (PA) between 2005 and 2020 at two tertiary medical referral centers. Histologic specimens were reexamined by an experienced head and neck pathologist. Patients with insufficient/incomplete data were excluded from our study sample.

Results: A total of 844 patients formed our study sample (291 men, 553 women, average age 48.9 years); 786 cases had a PA in the parotid gland (PG) (93.1%), and the remaining 58 cases had a PA in the parapharyngeal space (PS) (6.9%). Recurrences were detected in 8/844 cases (7/786 in the PG, 1/58 in the PS, 0.94% in total) with a mean follow-up time of 86.7 months (10-189 months) with no statistically significant differences between the study groups (p = 0.527). Our analysis showed that parapharyngeal pleomorphic adenomas are characterized by a lower incidence of an intact anatomical capsule (71.4% vs. 82.6%, p = 0.035) and a remarkably more frequent occurrence of satellite nodules (20.7% vs. 7.5%, p < 0.001).

Conclusions: The more challenging histopathologic profile of parapharyngeal pleomorphic adenomas points towards the fact that parapharyngeal surgery should remain in the hands of experienced surgeons at high-volume centers.