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The aim of this study has been to describe our experience with pleomorphic adenomas of the parapharyngeal space (PPS) treated with trans-oral robotic surgery (TORS). Tumors arising from the PPS comprise less than 0.5% of all head and neck tumors. Salivary gland tumors account for 40% to 50% of PPS lesions with pleomorphic adenomas representing the most common salivary tumors (80%-90%). Parapharyngeal space tumors cause nonspecific symptoms and may be difficult to diagnose.In our study a preoperative diagnosis was conducted by fine needle aspiration biopsy and magnetic resonance imaging and the results were used to plan the correct surgical approach.In all cases we were able to employ TORS, a minimally invasive procedure that allows us to operate in narrow and anatomically complex spaces that we can only reach thanks to the use of well-articulated hand pieces.This report indicates that TORS is a safe surgical procedure for the excision of benign tumors of the PPS in selected cases.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has had a significant impact on people's behavior. The aim of this study has been to evaluate how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has impacted the incidence and the features of maxillofacial fractures presented at 6 Italian tertiary centers. Clinical records of all the patients diagnosed for facial fractures between February 23 and May 23, 2019 and 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Any differences in patient number and characteristics and fracture etiology and site between the 2 groups were then statistically analyzed. There has been a 69.1% decrease in the number of incoming patients during the pandemic. The number of foreign patients has decreased significantly (23.3% versus 9.6%, P = 0.011) while the average age has increased (38.6 versus 45.6 years old, P = 0.01). Specific statistical significant differences for accidental falls (31.8% versus 50.1%, P = 0.005) and sports injuries (16.9% versus 1.4%, P

We read with interest the report by Gutierrez-Ortiz et al.1 Starting from the analysis of 2 cases of Miller Fisher syndrome and cranial polyneuritis, the authors propose some hypotheses regarding the pathogenesis of neurologic manifestations during COVID-19. They affirm that there may be a common pathogenesis among all neurologic clinical features of COVID-19, including chemosensitive disorders, which appear frequently in these patients in Europe.

The neoplasms of the salivary glands account for 2% of head and neck tumors and the most common form is the Pleomorphic adenoma (PA). Parotid gland is affected from 80% to 90% of cases. In elderly these tumors occur mostly in females. These benign tumors are composed of epithelial and myoepithelial cells that are arranged with various morphological patterns and subtypes. The classification of these tumors is also based on the amount and nature of the stroma. In literature there is an almost complete consensus that, in the major salivary glands, PAs are enclosed by a layer of fibrous tissue often called “capsule” but there is disagreement about the form, extension and thickness of this layer. The treatment is surgical and there are two main different surgical approaches: an enucleation (local dissection) or so-called subtotal superficial parotidectomy and lateral or superficial total parotidectomy. Histopathological characteristics of PAs especially of capsular alterations such as thin capsule areas, capsule-free regions, capsule penetration, satellite nodules and pseudopodia in the different subtypes are important for the choice of surgical treatment and the first explanation for tumor recurrence. In our study we describe a morphological features of 84 cases of pleomorphic adenoma of parotid gland from elderly patients treated by a surgical “enucleation like” method called nucleoresection.