Surgical treatment of pleomorphic adenoma of parotid gland in children: a systematic review

Objectives: To evaluate surgical approaches and outcomes of pleomorphic adenoma of parotid gland in pediatric population. Methods: A systematic search of PubMed and EMBASE was performed to identify articles reporting surgical treatment of pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland in children. A qualitative analysis on results was conducted. Results: Our search included 23 retrospective studies. The number of children with pleomorphic adenoma underwent surgical treatment were 330. Superficial parotidectomy is the most reported type of surgery, total parotidectomy is performed when the tumor occurs in the deep lobe or in revision surgery and limited excisions in selected case of small lesions mainly in the tail of parotid gland. The rate of recurrences after surgery ranged from 0% to 44.4%. Revision surgery was performed in all cases of recurrences. Considering major complications, transient facial paralysis was observed from 0% to 50% of cases after primary and/or revision surgery; Frey's syndrome from 0% to 14.3% of cases regardless of the type of surgeries. Conclusion: Surgical treatment of pleomorphic adenoma of parotid gland in children requires a tailored approach based on the location and extent of the tumor with the main aim of complete excision of the neoplasm. Appropriate surgical approach results in a decrease of recurrence rate and morbidity. Surgical skill is needed to reduce complication rates especially in children.