title: Diagnosis and management of intraparotid facial nerve schwannoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our objective was to provide the management guidelines for facial nerve schwannomas (FNSs) presenting as a parotid mass.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study is a case report and literature review.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four clinical cases of patients with an asymptomatic parotid mass diagnosed as FNS are presented. The patient's presentation, the diagnostic algorithm and surgical rationale are discussed. A review of the literature on FNSs is presented.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intraparotid FNSs are an extremely rare entity and are rarely diagnosed preoperatively. Intraoperatively, conservative biopsy in a non-functional part of the lesion can be used to make the diagnosis. Most of the FNSs of patients with normal facial nerve function could be dissected off the nerve trunk without losing FN function. FNS patients with preoperatively abnormal FN function should be managed conservatively or undergo reconstruction with nerve graft after tumour resection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, 145 Chang Le Xi Lu, Xi'an 710032, China. qinma@fmmu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Pu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Xiaobing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Delin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D024221:Antineoplastic Protocols; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D003390:Cranial Nerve Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000294:innervation / Q000601:surgery*; D010307:Parotid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies