Abstract
Background: Salivary gland neoplasms constitute a group of heterogeneous lesions with complex clinicopathologic characteristics and distinct biological behavior. Numerous studies have suggested geographical variation, therefore the aims of this study were to analyze the characteristics of salivary gland neoplasms in two Iraqi centers and to analyze the postoperative complications that are encountered after surgical treatment of these tumors. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of the patients who were treated for major and minor epithelial salivary gland tumors was conducted. The analyzed data included; demographic information (age and gender), the site of the tumor, the clinical manifestations, the histological type of the tumor, the type of the treatment and the postoperative complications. Results: Fifty seven patients were included in this study. The parotid gland was involved in most patients (n=37, 64.9%). Thirty five patients (61.4%) had benign tumors while 22 patients (38.6%) had malignant tumors. The mean age of patients with malignant tumors was 52.05 (±17.3) while of patients diagnosed with benign tumors was 41.6 (±11.4) years, the difference was statistically significant (p= 0.008). Surgical treatment consisted of superficial parotidectomy, total parotidectomy, surgical excision of the submandibular gland, surgical excision of minor salivary glands and maxillectomy. The most common complication was weakness of one or multiple branches of the facial nerve, complications were significantly associated with patients’ age, whereas gender and type of tumor whether benign or malignant did not affect the complication rate Conclusions: benign salivary gland tumors are more common than malignant tumors with no gender predilection and that patients who are diagnosed with malignant tumors are significantly older that patients with benign tumors, parotid gland is the most commonly affected gland with pleomorphic adenoma as the most frequent diagnosis. Facial nerve dysfunction was the most common complication and the complication rate was significantly associated with the age of patients.