title: Surgical management of primary parapharyngeal space tumors: a 10-year review.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  Most neoplasms of the parapharyngeal space are benign. The transcervical surgical approach is the preferred procedure in most cases. Intra-operative endoscopic exploration offers a new surgical management technique to reduce operative complications and post-operative recurrence rates.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To present the authors' experience in the treatment of primary parapharyngeal space tumors with emphasis on surgical approaches and employment of endoscopy to detect residual tumors through conventional approaches.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and sixty-seven patients treated surgically over a 10-year period were retrospectively reviewed. A comparison of the surgical approaches in a relevant case series was also conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All of the patients underwent pre-operative imaging before surgery, and intra-operative endoscopic detection was selectively used for large, deep tumors. Complete resection of the tumor was used in 158 patients (95%), with a transcervical surgical approach applied in 144 cases (84%). Of 167 tumors, 150 (90%) were benign and 17 (10%) were malignant, with neurilemmoma/schwannoma as the most frequent pathology (42%). Surgical complications were reported in 26 patients (15%), most commonly unilateral paralysis of the vocal cords (6%). Two patients (1%) presented with recurrence, on average 2.5 years (range = 1-4 years) after initial excision, and the mean follow-up time was 3.8 years (range = 10 months-10 years).
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Haitao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Weiting
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Cai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Di
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Chunsheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Dehui
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , Fudan University Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital , Shanghai , PR China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013517:Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Neurilemmoma/schwannoma; endoscopic assistance; follow-up; pleomorphic adenoma; surgical approach