Conservative and functional surgery in the treatment of salivary gland tumours

The principle of modern oncological surgery is to conserve the functional organs or tissues as much as possible based on eradication of the tumour. For salivary gland tumours, conservative and functional salivary surgery, including partial sialoadenectomy as well as anatomical and functional preservation of the facial nerve, great auricular nerve, superficial musculo-aponeurotic system (SMAS), and Stensen’s duct, has become increasingly popular. In the present review, we discuss the following aspects of conservative and functional surgery in the treatment of salivary gland tumours: (i) partial superficial parotidectomy (PP) to treat benign parotid gland tumours, (ii) modification of surgical incisions to improve cosmetic results, (iii) modification of the surgical approach to decrease complications, (iv) extracardial dissection to treat benign superficial parotid tumours, (v) partial sialoadenectomy to treat benign submandibular gland tumours, and (vi) 125I brachytherapy to preserve facial nerves. The majority of the operated parotid or submandibular glands are preserved, and surgical complications are also decreased. Conservative and functional surgery plays a significant role in maintaining normal salivary gland function and in improving patients’ quality of life during the treatment of salivary gland tumours and thus should be further promoted.