INCISION AND DRAINAGE OF PAROTID ABSCESSES VS USG GUIDED NEEDLE ASPIRATIONA RETROSPECTIVE STUDY.

Objective: Surgical drainage of the parotid abscess is the current standard of treatment which is carried out under general anaesthesia and carries the risk of iatrogenic facial nerve injury. Ultrasound-guided needle aspiration can be an alternative to surgical drainage. Methods: All parotid abscess patients who are treated surgically (n = 18) vs ultrasoundguided needle aspiration (n = 12) at Department of Surgery, MKCG MCH, were included in this monocentric retrospective analysis. Results: There was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.142) regarding the mean in both groups. There was a change in the duration of hospital stay(5.416 vs. 7.77 days) after ultrasound-guided needle aspiration. This trend did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.031). Facial nerve injury did not occur in any of the patients. Postoperative bleeding didn’t occur after needle aspirations but same is seen in 2% of the patients after surgical abscess revision. Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided needle aspiration is safe and effective in the treatment of parotid abscesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]