Granular Cells in a Benign Parotid Gland Tumour: an Attempt to Understand Its Probable Histogenesis

Clinical findings: A 26 year old Indian woman was referred to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR), Klang for expert management of a swelling over the right posterior auricular region (Fig. 1). FNAC was done in 2006 and it revealed a basal cell adenoma of the right parotid gland. Upon examination, the swelling was mildly tender to palpation, lobulated and firm in consistency with a maximum dimension of 4cm. CT scan revealed a uniformly dense, well def ined, lobulated right parotid gland with cystic spaces in the medial aspects of the superior and the deep lobe of the parotid gland (Fig. 2). Persistence of fat spaces was observed. Cervical lymphadenopathy was present and there was no evidence of vascular invasion or bony erosion. A superficial parotidectomy was performed under general anesthesia and the specimen was submitted for histopathological examination. At a 16 – month follow – up there was no evidence of any recurrence.