Differential diagnosis of parapharyngeal space tumors: Literature review on two clinical cases

Abstract

Tumors of the parapharyngeal space are rare, accounting for only 0.5% of head and neck tumors in this space. Two clinical cases are described. The first of a 44-year-old patient with complaints of bulging of the lateral pharyngeal wall. Neck CT revealed a large, heterogeneous and vascularized expansive mass that deviated the internal and external carotid arteries. The second, of a 57-year-old female patient with complaints of left cervical mass, of indolent and painless growth. Neck CT showed a lesion with the epicenter on the left carotid space, with marked global enhancement and regular contours. In both cases the surgical approach was via transcervical incision. Pathological examination revealed vagus nerve schwannoma in the first case and paraganglioma in the second. Diagnosis can be difficult, with CT and MRI being crucial in the differential diagnosis of these tumors and their surgical planning.