[Parotidectomy: functional and esthetic results].

We report a retrospective study of 154 patients after parotidectomy. The patients were examined immediately and on average about 40 months after the operation. The emphasis of the examination was to assess both functional as well as aesthetic results. The function of the facial nerve was evaluated by Stennert's score. We found a median score of 20% 3.3 days after operation. The late postoperative results (34.3 months after operation) indicated that 91% of the patients had no paresis. There was no significant difference between superficial parotidectomy and total parotidectomy in regard to the aesthetic result. The decision for partial or total parotidectomy should be based exclusively on pathological and oncological considerations.