title: Use of cross-sectional imaging in predicting surgical location of parotid neoplasms.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of using the retromandibular vein as seen on cross-sectional imaging to help differentiate superficial lobe from deep lobe tumors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Of the patients who had parotid neoplasms between January 1997 and July 2002, we were able to identify 44 patients with preoperative imaging studies that were available for evaluation. The films were reviewed by a single head and neck radiologist to determine whether the neoplasms involved the superficial, deep, or both lobes of the parotid gland (total). The lateral margin of the retromandibular vein was used as a marker for the facial nerve, since the nerve is not always visible on CT and MRI scans. The radiologist's findings were then compared with the findings during surgery. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of predicting the location of neoplasms were then calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For lesions in the superficial lobe, cross-sectional imaging was able to predict the location of the neoplasm with a sensitivity of 0.91 (95% CI, 0.70-0.98), specificity of 0.86 (95% CI, 0.63-0.96), PPV of 0.88 (95% CI, 0.67-0.97), and NPV of 0.90 (95% CI, 0.67-0.98). For lesions in both lobes (total), cross-sectional imaging was able to predict the location of the neoplasm with a sensitivity of 0.94 (95% CI, 0.68-0.99), specificity of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.71-0.97), PPV of 0.83 (95% CI, 0.58-0.96), and NPV of 0.96 (95% CI, 0.78-0.99).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Use of the retromandibular vein as a marker for the facial nerve is a sensitive method for identifying the location of parotid gland neoplasms on cross-sectional imaging. This supports the accuracy of using preoperative imaging to detect the position of parotid neoplasms with respect to the facial nerve.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105-0312, USA. vasudivi@med.umich.edu
authors.forename: Vasu
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Divi
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Fatt
authors.forename: Theodoros N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Teknos
authors.forename: Suresh K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mukherji
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005154:Facial Nerve; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010307:Parotid Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014680:Veins