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Inchien Chamisa. Frey’s syndrome - unusually long delayed clinical onset post-parotidectomy: a case report. The Pan African Medical Journal. 2010;5:1 Key words: Frey’s syndrome, parotidectomy, gustatory sweating Permanent link: http://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/5/1/full Received: 13/01/2010 - Accepted: 05/03/2010 - Published: 07/04/2010 © Inchien Chamisa et al. The Pan African Medical Journal - ISSN 1937-8688. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Frey’s syndrome - unusually long delayed clinical onset post-parotidectomy: a case report
Inchien Chamisa1, &
1Kalafong Hospital, Department of General Surgery, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
&Corresponding author
Inchien Chamisa, Department of General Surgery, Kalafong Hospital, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X 396, Pretoria, South Africa. Telephone: + 27 (0) 123731004 Mobile Phone: + 27 (0) 827502605
Abstract
Frey’s syndrome is a complication of parotidectomy that is thought to occur as a result of aberrant regeneration of the postganglionic parasympathetic nerve fibres supplying the parotid gland to severed postganglionic sympathetic fibres which innervate the sweat glands of the face. Frey’s syndrome is difficult to treat but is a preventable phenomenon and surgeons must be aware of the available preventative methods during the initial surgery. An unusual case is presented involving a patient with delayed onset of Frey’s syndrome 40 years after parotidectomy in childhood. The potential for this long-delayed clinical presentation should be discussed with the patient before surgery in the parotid gland. Diagnostic methods, preventive measures and management options are briefly discussed.
