A Case of Bilateral Warthin's Tumor

ABSTRACT

Warthin's tumor is a benign neoplasm that most frequently occurs in the parotid gland. Warthin's tumor shows a tendency of bilateral occurrence, but most of bilateral tumors occur at different time. It usually affects older man and grows slowly. Surgical excision is appropriate treatment for patients with Warthin's tumor and rarely recurs after removal. We report a rare case of bilateral Warthin's tumor which detected at the same time. A 54-year-old man had painless, slowly growing masses on the both mandibular angles. The masses were detected ten years ago. CT scan, ultrasonographic evaluation and fine needle biopsy was performed for preoperative diagnostic study. Superficial parotidectomy was done one after the other at ten-day intervals. After excision, histological examination revealed a mixture of ductal epithelium and a lymphoid stroma. The overlying surface of lymphoid tissue was covered with epithelial cells that was abundant of eosinophilic cytoplasm. Both masses were diagnosed as Warthin's tumor. Postoperatively, the patient did well and had no evidence of recurrence of tumor for 2 years follow-up period. Authors experienced a rare case of bilateral Warthin's tumor which detected at the same time. We recommend stepwise superficial parotidectomy at one or two-week intervals as treatment of bilateral Warthin's tumor.