Radiological research methods in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with the parapharyngeal space tumors

The parapharyngeal space is a complex structure, being narrow and difficult for surgical approach. Surgical treatment is the main treatment for parapharyngeal space (PPS) tumors, it is performed on the basis of information obtained from imaging methods (computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)). Objective – to investigate the effectiveness of advanced visualization of radiological research methods in the diagnosis of the parapharyngeal space tumors in order to select the necessary tactics of surgical treatment. This retrospective study included 43 patients who underwent surgery for primary parapharyngeal space tumors from 2010 to 2021. 32 patients were treated in previous 10 years, 11 – patients who underwent examination and surgical treatment over the past 2 years with advanced methods of MRI and CT to select a safe surgical approach. Patients of the 2nd group underwent advanced MRI and CT studies in order to choose the correct method of surgical approach and prevent postoperative complications and recurrence. The histological conclusion in 90.1% of the operated patients confirmed the preliminary data of MRI perfusion regarding the probable histological structure of the neoplasm. Due to a comprehensive preoperative study, in 81.8% of patients in this group transoral approach was used. Our experience confirms the necessity for a thorough preoperative diagnostic procedure that should take advantage of imaging modalities (CT, MRI), especially new techniques (MRI-perfusion and diffusion weighted imaging).