Department of Oral Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Head Neck. 2013 May;35(5):E153-6. doi: 10.1002/hed.22005. Epub 2012 Feb 6.
Parapharyngeal space (PPS) tumors are rare, accounting for 0.5% of all head and neck neoplasms. PPS tumors are difficult to diagnose due to limited presenting signs and symptoms and because of their location deep within the neck.
A 60-year-old woman presented with complaints of otalgia, which appeared to be consistent with a temporomandibular disorder (TMD). Due to disproportionate symptoms, an MRI of the temporomandibular joints was ordered. The MRI revealed a mass within the PPS, which was later diagnosed as a mucoepidermoid carcinoma. A literature search failed to reveal otalgia, and facial pain, thought to be related to a TMD, as the primary presenting symptoms of a PPS neoplasm.
Patients presenting with disproportionate signs and symptoms of a TMD should be evaluated with advanced imaging to rule out occult pathology.
咽旁间隙（PPS）肿瘤较为罕见，占所有头颈部肿瘤的 0.5%。由于 PPS 肿瘤的位置较深，且其表现的症状和体征有限，因此难以诊断。
一名 60 岁女性因耳痛就诊，该症状似乎与颞下颌关节紊乱症（TMD）一致。由于症状不成比例，因此安排了颞下颌关节的 MRI 检查。MRI 显示 PPS 内有肿块，后被诊断为黏液表皮样癌。文献检索未发现耳痛和面部疼痛（被认为与 TMD 有关）是 PPS 肿瘤的主要表现症状。
出现与 TMD 不成比例的体征和症状的患者应进行高级影像学检查以排除隐匿性病变。
