Tumours of the parapharyngeal space: Our experience

Parapharyngeal tumours are rare and constitute only about 0.5% of all head and neck neoplasia. They pose considerable diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. A series of nine parapharyngeal tumours which were surgically treated over an eight year period is presented. Neurogenic and salivary tumours accounted for most of these. Medial displacement of the lateral oropharyngeal wall and ill- defined upper lateral neck mass were the most common physical signs. Histopathological diagnosis was not possible pre- operatively in any patient. External surgical approaches were used with a high degree of success. There were no significant long- term complications except in cases where nerve trunks had to be transected for ensuring complete tumour removal.