Parapharyngeal space tumors: a twenty-year single-center retrospective analysis on the effectiveness of transcervical and transoral approaches on local control and disease-specific survival.

Introduction: To retrospectively analyzed our twenty-years single-center experience in the treatment of PPS tumors, focusing on the selection of surgical approach and the survival outcome.

Methods: Tumors involving the PPS between January 2000 and February 2022 were retrospectively included. The surgical approach was dictated by the localization of the tumor, its dimensions, the relation to anatomic structures and its etiology.

Results: 34 patients were included in the study. The median age was 50.5 yr, with a gender female prevalence. Most tumors were benign and non recurrent. 20 tumors were treated through lateral approach (transcervical or transcervical-transparotid), 11 through medial approach (transoral), and only 3 tumors were approached by multiple corridors. The 5 years disease free survival (DFS) was 78.8 % (CI 78-79.3 %).

Conclusions: In our experience, the transcervical and transoral approaches can be considered the ideal surgical approach to manage tumors of PPS, especially in cases of benign neoplasms.