%0 Journal Article
%T Primary parotid tuberculosis mimicking parotid neoplasm: a case report
%A Hakan Birkent
%A Serdar Karahatay
%A Timur Akcam
%A Abdullah Durmaz
%A Onder Ongoru
%J Journal of Medical Case Reports
%D 2008
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1752-1947-2-62
%X A 20-year-old male presented with a mass in the right parotid region. The mass had been present for one year. Physical examination revealed a mobile, non-tender mass occupying the superficial lobe of the right parotid gland. Radiologic investigations revealed a well-defined, solid, mass lesion located in the posterior part of the superficial lobe of the right parotid gland. A provisional diagnosis of a neoplasm of the parotid gland was made and a right superficial parotidectomy was performed. Histopathologic examination of the specimen was reported as tuberculosis of the parotid gland. The patient was commenced on antitubercular chemotherapy.Although rare, tuberculosis should be kept in mind and considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with a solitary tumor in the parotid gland in order to avoid unnecessary surgery.Tuberculosis is a necrotizing granulomatous disease with varied clinical presentations and a wide distribution. The lungs are most commonly involved. Extrathoracic forms of the disease account for approximately 20% of overall active tuberculosis and can be seen in the kidneys, bones, meninges, and lymph nodes [1,2]. Tuberculosis lymphadenitis is the most common extrathoracic form and the cervical lymph nodes, including lymph nodes in and around the salivary glands, are the ones most frequently involved [2].However, parotid gland involvement is extremely rare, even in countries in which tuberculosis is endemic [3]. Less than 200 cases have been reported since the first description of this condition by von Stubenrauch in 1894 [4,5]. Clinically, it generally presents as a slow growing mass indistinguishable from a malignancy [6]. The diagnosis of parotid tuberculosis needs a high degree of clinical suspicion. If there is no history of pulmonary tuberculosis and no relevant symptoms, diagnosis can be extremely difficult. Therefore it is generally overlooked by otolaryngologists and most cases are undergoing unnecessary surgery.We herein
%U http://www.jmedicalcasereports.com/content/2/1/62