Determining the number and distribution of intraparotid lymph nodes according to parotidectomy classification of European Salivary Gland Society: Cadaveric study.

Abstract

Background To investigate the distribution of the parotid gland's intraglandular lymph nodes using the parotidectomy zones determined by the parotidectomy classification of the European Salivary Gland Society (ESGS). Materials and Methods A total of 128 parotid glands were dissected from 64 fresh cadavers, by bilateral parotidectomy without additional incision within the standard autopsy procedure, and categorized. Results Eighty-six percent of the IGLNs were located in the superficial lobe and 14% in the deep lobe. An average of 7.09 +/- 3.55 IGLNs were found for each of the gland; there were 6.11 +/- 3.28 in the superficial lobe and 0.98 +/- 1.46 in the deep lobe. While the most common lymph nodes were found in level 2 with 47.7%, only 5% of IGLNs were at level 4. According to the proposed modification, the most common lymph nodes (35.24%) were located at level 2B. Conclusion Level 2B was found to contain significantly more lymph nodes than other levels, which has not been evaluated before in literature.