An unusual case with a missing parotid gland: A case report

Abstract

Unilateral or bilateral agenesis of the parotid gland is an uncommon condition with unclear aetiology. Only 22 cases of unilateral salivary agenesis have been reported excluding the present case. We present a case of a 4-year-old female child who presented with complaints of slight discoloration of her tongue and was referred for MRI to rule out any vascular malformation. Imaging revealed a complete absence of the right parotid gland. Hypertrophy of the sublingual gland and hypoplasia of the parotid gland on the opposite side was also noted, an unusual finding as the contralateral parotid showed compensatory hypertrophy in the other reported cases.

Asymptomatic unilateral aplasia of the left parotid gland: an unusual entity and case report

“…To the best of our knowledge, one additional case has been reported in the literature up to mid-2020. This case was a 4-year-old female with complete absence of the right parotid gland, hypoplasia of the parotid gland on the opposite side, and hypertrophy of the sublingual gland based on MRI findings [ 4 ].…”

“…At time of diagnosis, the youngest patient was 50 days old [ 8 ] and the oldest was 75 years of age [ 9 ], with an average age of 34.7 years [ 1 ]. The unilateral absence of the right parotid gland was almost twice as frequent as the left side (14/8 cases) [ 1 , 4 ]. The papilla of Stensen's duct was present in only 1 case from the cases that noticed it [ 1 ].…”

“…An accessory parotid gland was found in 4 cases (18.8%, 1). 2 cases with abnormalities of the mandible were reported (9.09%, 1), and 1case was found with simultaneous hypoplasia of the parotid gland on the opposite side, hypertrophy of the sublingual gland, presence of bifid tongue, supernumerary teeth on the alveolar border of the maxilla, a solitary mandibular incisor and a high-arched palate [ 4 ]. The remaining cases were asymptomatic or had findings irrelevant to parotid aplasia, such as metastatic neuroblastoma [ 1 ].…”

“…Furthermore, agenesis of major salivary glands can be part of other syndromes [ 3 ]. To the best of our knowledge only 23 cases of unilateral parotid aplasia, have been documented in the literature [ 1 , 4 ]. Clinical presentation of unilateral parotid aplasia may include obvious signs of xerostomia and an increased rate of oropharyngeal infections [ 5 ].…”

Incidental Finding of Unilateral Parotid Gland Agenesis: A Case Report

“…[1,2] In particular, congenital agenesis of the parotid gland has been described in the literature with both unilateral, bilateral, and presentations involving multiple other major salivary glands. [7,8,9,10] There have been cases reported with syndromic associations such as hemifacial microsomia, cleft palate, Levy-Hollister Syndrome, but also single cases Klinefelter Syndrome and Down Syndrome. [3,13] This condition is frequently described as asymptomatic in nature and this case represents a new asymptomatic, incidental discovery on routine imaging for an unrelated condition.…”