Arch Otolaryngol
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Paralysis of the facial nerve in association with suppurative parotitis is rare, with only ten previously reported cases. In some situations, inflammation surrounding a benign neoplasm accounted for the observed paralysis. In this article, three new cases of parotitis with associated facial nerve dysfunction are described, none of which was associated with a neoplasm. ⋯ The treatment of this disease should initially be conservative management with high doses of wide-spectrum antibiotics. In the majority of cases, resolution of the facial paralysis should follow. However, persistence of a parotid mass with continued facial palsy mandates surgical exploration to exclude the presence of an underlying neoplasm.