Subtotal Parotidectomy and Unilateral Lateral Neck Dissection (Levels II, III, and IV) for Right Parotid Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma Involving the Deep and Superficial Lobes and Extending into Parapharyngeal Space
Veenadhari Kollipara, BA^1,2; Kunal A. Koka, BS^1,2; Quentin C. Durfee, BS¹; Emily K. Funk, MD^1,2; Neerav Goyal, MD, MPH, FACS^1,2; Guy Slonimsky, MD^1,2
1Penn State College of Medicine
²Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common malignant tumor of the salivary glands, predominantly affecting the parotid gland. It commonly presents as a painless neck mass. Diagnostic workup includes physical examination, imaging, and fine needle aspiration biopsy. Superficial, subtotal, or total parotidectomy, with or without neck dissection and possible adjuvant radiation therapy, is recommended in most cases according to tumor stage, grade, and adverse pathological features. In the case presented here, subtotal parotidectomy with facial nerve preservation and neck dissection followed by adjuvant radiation therapy was elected. Post-treatment imaging at three-month intervals showed no evidence of persistent disease. The attached video demonstrates subtotal right parotidectomy via combined anterograde and retrograde nerve dissection and right selective neck dissection of levels IIa, IIb, III, and IV.