Pediatric parotidectomy outcomes: A 14‐year multicenter study

OBJECTIVES: Parotidectomy increases childhood challenges. This study aimed to determine the clinical profiles, investigations, and outcomes of pediatric patients who had undergone parotidectomy. METHODS: A multicenter retrospective review of parotidectomy in pediatric patients between 2007 and 2020. RESULTS: In 108 parotidectomies, the final diagnoses were benign (47.22%), malignant (36.11%), and non‐neoplastic (16.67%). The incidence of facial palsy was 37.03%, which was significantly lower in the superficial group than that in the total parotidectomy group (p = .021). The incidence of facial nerve palsy was significantly higher in the malignancy group than that in the benign group (p = .035). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detected malignancy with 92.8% overall accuracy, 83.3% sensitivity, and 100% specificity. The sensitivity and specificity of fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) were 54.2% and 92.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Parotidectomy is commonly performed for benign and non‐neoplastic diseases in pediatric patients. Facial nerve palsy is significantly associated with malignant tumors and total parotidectomy. MRI is the most accurate imaging modality for diagnosing malignant lesions. FNA exhibits moderate agreement with the final pathology. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV.