Yokoyama et al., J Otol Rhinol 2015, S1:1 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2324-8785.S1-007 Journal of Otology & Rhinology Research Article A SCITECHNOL JOURNAL Removing Mastoid Tip Procedure for Advanced Parotid Cancer Results in Easy Identification of the Facial Nerve and Adequate Surgical Margin Junkichi Yokoyama*, Shinichi Ohba, Shin Ito, Mitsuhisa Fujimaki, Masataka Kojima and Katsuhisa Ikeda Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan *Corresponding author: Dr. Junkichi Yokoyama, MD, PhD, 2-1-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan, Tel: +81-3-3813-3111; Fax: +81-3-5802-1095; E-mail: [email protected] Rec date: Nov 17, 2014 Acc date: Jan 30, 2015 Pub date: March 06, 2015 Abstract Background: Advanced parotid cancers larger than 4 cm were firmly fixed around the tissue, and the main trunk of the facial nerve could hardly be detected in the narrow working space between the mastoid tip and parotid gland with cancer. Though the facial nerve was preserved, facial nerve stretching during surgery can have the serious effect of postoperative facial palsy. Background Advanced parotid cancers larger than 4 cm were firmly fixed around the tissue, and the main trunk of the facial nerve could hardly be detected in narrow working space between the mastoid tip and parotid gland with cancer. Though the facial nerve was preserved, facial nerve stretching during surgery can have the serious effect of postoperative facial palsy [1]. In these patients, the facial nerve was often involved perineurally. Such perineural invasion can spread proximally along the nerve to the temporal bone. When the tumor invades the mastoid, mastoidectomy or temporal bone resection is required for complete resection. However, temporal bone surgeries for managing parotid malignancies are not well reported in the literature [2]. Therefore, we undertook a novel procedure to identify and preserve facial nerves covered by firmly fixed parotid cancers larger than 4 cm and to resect advanced cancer spreading to the temporal bone. Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of removing the mastoid tip to facilitate the identification and preservation of the facial nerve in managing advanced or recurrent parotid cancers (Figure 1). Methods: The study was performed on 23 advanced parotid cancers that were larger than 4 cm and invaded firmly around the parotid. Seventeen cases were fresh cases and 6 were recurrent cases. Number of Stage III, IVA, and IVB were 4, 11, and 8, respectively. Results: Twenty-three patients required either mastoid tip removal (n: 19) or extended temporal bone resection (n: 4) for advanced parotid cancer. In nine cases, the main trunk of the facial nerve was sacrificed, and in five cases, tumors in the lower division of the nerve were resected. Theses facial nerves were reconstructed immediately. Negative margins were achieved in 100% of the patients. Figure 1: Anatomy of temporal bone (A) Lateral view of mastoid tip; (B) Inferior view of mastoid tip. (a) Mastoid tip; (b) Styloid process; (c) External auditory canal. Methods Conclusion: Removing the mastoid tip for advanced parotid tumors facilitates identification of the facial nerve and, therefore, better preservation of the normal facial nerve function. The study was performed on 23 advanced parotid cancers larger than 4 cm that invaded firmly around the parotid. Seventeen cases were fresh cases and 6 were recurrent cases. Number of Stage III, IVA, and IVB were 4, 11 and 8, respectively (Table 1). All patients gave their written informed consent and the study was approved by the ethics committee of the Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine. Keywords: Mastoid tip resection; Temporal bone resection; Mastoidectomy; Advanced parotid cancer; Facial nerve preservation; Identifying facial nerve Surgical Procedure: According to a modified Blair incision,skin incision is made beginning anterior and superior to the tragus along a skin crease. The skin is elevated in the superficial parotid fascia layer anteriorly to expose the mass to be resected. The parotid gland with cancer is separated from the cartilaginous external auditory canal and anterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. The digastric muscle and the pointer should be employed for identification. However, these cases were large and fixed cancers and the main trunk of the facial nerve could hardly be detected in the narrow working space between the mastoid tip and the parotid gland with cancer (Figure 2). Abbreviations: HB: House-Brackmann All articles published in Journal of Otology & Rhinology are the property of SciTechnol and is protected by copyright laws. Copyright © 2015, SciTechnol, All Rights Reserved. Citation: Yokoyama J, Ohba S, Ito S, Fujimaki M, Kojima M, et al. (2015) Removing Mastoid Tip Procedure for Advanced Parotid Cancer Results in Easy Identification of the Facial Nerve and Adequate Surgical Margin. J Otol Rhinol S1:1. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2324-8785.S1-007 The sternocleidomastoid muscle is detached from the mastoid tip by electrocautery. When the mastoid tip is removed by large bone forceps, the main trunk of the facial nerve can be observed from the stylomastoid foramen (Figure 3). In cases in which the facial nerve has preserved normal function; dissection is carried out along each of the branches of the facial nerve, dividing the parenchyma of the parotid gland to allow the lateral lobe to be removed intact. Removing the Characteristics Number Gender mastoid tip facilitates identification of the facial nerve and removal of the tumor, while enabling preservation of the facial nerve since it is not retracted during the resection. This contributes to leveling the height between the facial nerve and the surface of the tumor, facilitating the handling of surgical instruments in the narrow working space along the facial nerve, and diminishing the tension on the facial nerve by releasing the facial canal proximally. Characteristics Number Tumor size Male 11 Range 4-8 cm Female 12 Mean 5.4 cm Age Follow-up time Range 19.85 Range 7-76 Months Mean 59.9 Median 36.9 Months Median 66 Period of removing mastoid tip and identifying facial nerve Previous Treatment Range 2-13 Mins 4.5 Mins Untreated 17 Mean Recurrent 6 Distance between cancer and mastoid process Stage Range 2-9 mm 4.2 mm III 4 Mean IVA 11 Removing size of mastoid tip IVB 8 Height Pathological type Range 1.9-2.5 cm 2.2 Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma 5 Mean Salivary duct carcinoma 4 Width Epithlial-myoepithlial carcinoma 3 Range 2.1-2.8 Squamous cell carcinoma 2 Mean 2.4 Adenocarcinoma 2 Depth Acinic cell carcinoma 2 Range 1.6-2.3 Others 4 Mean 1.9 HB scores Working space I 4 Range 13.5-19.9 cm3 II 7 Mean 16.5 cm3 III 3 IV 0 V 4 VI 5 Table 1: Patient Characteristics. Volume S1 • Issue 1 • S1-007 • Page 2 of 4 • Citation: Yokoyama J, Ohba S, Ito S, Fujimaki M, Kojima M, et al. (2015) Removing Mastoid Tip Procedure for Advanced Parotid Cancer Results in Easy Identification of the Facial Nerve and Adequate Surgical Margin. J Otol Rhinol S1:1. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2324-8785.S1-007 Figure 2: MRI of recurrent parotid cancer (Case 1) (A) Axial section; (B) Coronal section. Figure 4: Case 2 Recurrent parotid cancer invading posterior fossa (A) Methionine-PET/CT; (B) Temporal bone dissection along the facial nerve arrow: facial nerve in facial canal; arrow head: Tumor; (C) External auditory canal. Frozen examination of the proximal and distal nerve is checked prior to nerve repair. Similarly, the distal branches of the facial nerve have already been identified during the cancer resection. However, cases with paralysis cannot respond to electrostimulators. We find the distal branches using a microscope (Figure 5). All patients underwent total parotidectomy with neck dissection and parapharyngeal dissection. Figure 3: Intraoperative findings (A) Prior to removing mastoid tip, working space is significantly narrow (↔); (B) After removing mastoid tip, expanding the working space facilitates identification of the facial nerve and dissection of parotid tumors without retracting the facial nerve. The arrow shows trunk of facial nerve; (C) Coronal view of the CT image after surgery, arrows show removed mastoid tip. When the facial nerve has been already recognized as having total paralysis, dissection is carried out along the main trunk of the facial nerve to the proximal intra-facial canal and distal to the cancer so that facial nerve repair can be achieved after resection of the tumor. We accomplish this by removing the mastoid tip and identifying the facial nerve in the vertical section of the temporal bone (Figure 4). Volume S1 • Issue 1 • S1-007 Figure 5: Distal 5 branches of the facial nerve identified by microscope, arrows: each branch. • Page 3 of 4 • Citation: Yokoyama J, Ohba S, Ito S, Fujimaki M, Kojima M, et al. (2015) Removing Mastoid Tip Procedure for Advanced Parotid Cancer Results in Easy Identification of the Facial Nerve and Adequate Surgical Margin. J Otol Rhinol S1:1. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2324-8785.S1-007 This procedure was evaluated based on the duration of surgery, working space, pathologic margins, and postoperative facial nerve function. Facial nerve function was assessed using the HouseBrackmann (HB) score [3]. Results Twenty-three patients required either mastoid tip removal (n:19) or extended temporal bone resection (n:4) for advanced parotid cancer. In nine cases, the main trunk of the facial nerve was sacrificed and, in five cases, tumors in the lower division of the nerve were resected. Theses facial nerves were reconstructed immediately. Negative margins were achieved in 100% of the patients. The mean duration for removing the mastoid tip to identify facial nerves was 4.5 minutes (2-13 mins). The mean length of the cancer and mastoid process was 4.2 mm. The mean size of the removed mastoid tip was 2.1 cm in height and 2.2 cm in width, and 1.7 cm in depth. The extended working space was 3 cm × 2.7 cm × 1.8 cm, and as a result, the tumors could be resected without retraction. Of the 9 patients in which the facial nerve was preserved, all 9 patients had normal facial function (HB I). Of the 5 patients with reconstruction in the lower branch, 5 had HB II at postoperative 6 months. However, of the 9 patients who underwent reconstruction in the trunk of the facial nerve, 5 had HB IV and 4 patients had HB V at postoperative 6 months. There were no major complications. One patient required oral antibiotics for a minor infection. One patient had a narrow ear canal postoperative course. Discussion Facial nerve management is a crucial component of parotid surgery. Every effort should be made to preserve the facial nerve function [4]. In addition, recurrent parotid tumors, whether benign or malignant, present a clinically difficult situation, especially when the facial nerve function is normal. For such patients, who have already undergone parotidectomy, we removed the mastoid tip in order to identify the facial nerve in an non-operated area. Removal of the mastoid tip and careful dissection around the nerve in the stylomastoid foramen permits full exposure of the nerve as it passes through the facial canal. In our opinion, this is the safest way to identify and preserve the facial nerve in patients undergoing revision parotidectomy. Volume S1 • Issue 1 • S1-007 When aggressive features such as facial paralysis are present, temporal bone surgery is useful in the management of such tumors. Tumors involving the mastoid tip only can be safely managed with removal of the mastoid tip. When a tumor involves the middle ear, removing the mastoid tip and resection of the temporal bone along the facial nerve facilitates resection of the tumor. Inadequate surgical margins have been reported in up to 63% of patients [5]. Positive margins with poor outcomes have been reported [4]. In our study, 100% of the patients showed negative margins. This procedure enabled safe identification of the facial nerve, and facilitated repair of the facial nerve in patients with sacrificed facial nerves, resulting in tumor control and improved restoration of the facial contour. Conclusion Removing the mastoid tip for advanced parotid tumors could facilitate identification of the facial nerve and, therefore, better preservation of the normal facial nerve function. This procedure facilitated the achievement of negative margins, especially for proximal facial nerves, and simplified facial nerve grafting when the nerve was sacrificed. References 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Dulguerov P, Marchal F, Lehmann W (1999) Postparotidectomy facial nerve paralysis: possible etiologic factors and results with routine facial nerve monitoring. The Laryngoscope 109: 754-762. Dean NR, White HN, Carter DS, Desmond RA, Carroll WR, et al. (2010) Outcomes following temporal bone resection. The Laryngoscope 120: 1516-1522. House JW, Brackmann DE (1985) Facial nerve grading system. Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery 93: 146-147. Iyer NG, Clark JR, Murali R, Gao K, O'Brien CJ (2009) Outcomes following parotidectomy for metastatic squamous cell carcinoma with microscopic residual disease: implications for facial nerve preservation. Head & Neck 31: 21-27. Garden AS, el-Naggar AK, Morrison WH, Callender DL, Ang KK, et al. (1997) Postoperative radiotherapy for malignant tumors of the parotid gland. International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics 37: 79-85. • Page 4 of 4 •
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