Recurrent pleomorphic adenomas of the parotid gland.

In this retrospective study of 19 cases of recurrent pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland, all 19 patients underwent primary surgery elsewhere, namely, lumpectomy in five cases and superficial parotidectomy in 14 cases. The age at which those patients with recurrence had originally been seen was significantly earlier than those seen in our series of cases of primary surgery for pleomorphic adenoma. If the primary operation had been a parotidectomy, the average time interval between the first and second operation was 7.7 years; however, if it had been a lumpectomy, it was ten months. Implantability of the tumor and inadequate surgery were reasons for tumor recurrence. The suggested treatment of recurrence is total parotidectomy with preservation of the facial nerve. Revision surgery has been successful in all cases with no further recurrences, except in two cases in which multiple operations had already been performed.