Removal of a bullet from the parotid gland

An unusual intraparotid foreign body simulating a tumour: shrapnel from the Spanish Civil War

A foreign body lodged for decades in the parotid gland, entering through the oral cavity or the skin, is extremely rare. Even less common is the clinical presentation of a foreign body lodged in the parotid gland simulating a tumour. The authors report the finding of a fragment of shrapnel lodged in the parotid gland for 63 years. The case is unusual owing to the rare clinical presentation, the length of time between the injury and the occurrence of symptoms and the associated mandibular osteolysis in the panoramic radiograph. Initial diagnoses considered were a tumour emerging in the parotid gland, a large odontogenic cyst or an odontogenic tumour with soft tissue extension. Sometimes neither fine needle aspiration nor radiology is capable of providing an accurate diagnosis before surgery.

Unusual parotid gland foreign body

A foreign body in the parotid gland whether from the oral cavity or through the skin is extremely uncommon. A case is described of the tip of a golden-colored pencil accidentally piercing the deep lobe after a fall. Emergency surgical removal was performed, and the diagnosis of the foreign body was quite easy. In contrast, determination of the location in the gland had to be done by a microscope, with fluoroscopy during the operation and was quite difficult. During removal, great attention was paid to avoiding facial nerve injury. This was done by identifying the facial trunk at the pointer using a microscope. The dissolved material including copper and zinc metal powder, paste, and clay, was found in the deep lobe associated with the surrounding abscess. Although these materials are assumed to be harmless to human tissues, the complete and immediate removal is to prevent salivary fistule resulting from inflammation.

Palatal trauma: an unusual cause of a parotid sinus

A case is described of a 3-year-old boy who presented with a seemingly trivial injury to his soft palate, who went on to develop a parotid sinus as a result of a retained foreign body. This is a rare clinical problem and it highlights the difficulty in the clinical assessment of a palatal injury--especially in children. The child had the foreign body removed successfully 5 months after the initial injury and made an uneventful recovery.