Pituitary Gland

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What is the Pituitary Gland?

The pituitary gland is a pea-sized gland located at the base of the skull between the optic nerves. The pituitary gland secretes hormones. Hormones are chemicals that travel through our blood stream. The pituitary is sometimes referred to as the "master gland" as it controls hormone functions such as our temperature, thyroid activity, growth during childhood, urine production, testosterone production in males and ovulation and estrogen production in females. In effect the gland functions as our thermostat that controls all other glands that are responsible for hormone secretion. The gland is a critical part of our ability to respond to the environment most often without our knowledge.

The pituitary gland actually functions as two separate compartments an anterior portion (adenohypohysis-hormone producing) and the posterior gland (neurohypophysis). The anterior gland actually is made of separate collection of individual cells that act as functional units (it is useful to consider them as individual factories) that are dedicated to produce a specific regulatory hormone messenger or factor. These factors are secreted in response to the outside environment and the internal bodily responses to this environment. These pituitary factors then travel through a rich blood work network into the blood stream and eventually reach their specific target gland. They then stimulate the target gland to produce the appropriate type and amount of hormone so the body can respond to the environment correctly.

Similar to the cortisol factory there are additional factories:

Growth Hormone
Prolactin
Gonadotropin ("sex hormones")
Thyroid
These five axes (factories) function as the anterior pituitary gland neuroendocrine unit. If any one of these factories become excited and start to overproduce their respective hormonal factor the net result is excess production of the final hormone product. So in the above example, if the cortisol cells (corticotrophs) lose their ability to respond to the normal stimuli from the environment and hypothalamus and develop their own independent, uncontrolled autonomous secretion they will produce more cortisol than the body requires. In return the adrenal gland will be over stimulated and secrete unregulated and unneeded catecholomines (stress chemicals). The net result is excess production of these important chemicals that raise the blood pressure and drive the heart in order to respond to stress when needed and can cause the body and internal organs to be stressed when there is no need. The consequences of overdriving the internal organs of the body can be life threatening. Often these cells that overproduce their respective hormone will clump together within a given area of the pituitary gland creating a true factory of over production – pituitary tumor.

In addition to these five factories (cell lines) that produce hormones the anterior pituitary gland also contains remnants of the parent cells from which each of these individual cells came from. Specifically as the pituitary gland was formed the anterior gland contained a parent cell (pituicyte) which if you will was a parent cell. During embryological development this parent cells grew and matured into a series of daughter cells. Each of these daughter cells differentiated or learned to secrete a specific type of hormone eventually resulting in one of the five factory cells. In about 20% of the cases in fact the parent cell (which has not yet learned to secrete anything) grows excessively creating a collection or clump—pituitary tumor. This clump can grow and in the process create pressure on adjacent structures. Therefore these nonsecreting tumors create a problem for the patient not from excess hormone production but rather because of pressure on adjacent structures.

Esophageal Cancer

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Esophageal cancer is cancer that occurs in the esophagus — a long, hollow tube that runs from your throat to your stomach. Your esophagus carries food you swallow to your stomach to be digested.

Esophageal cancer usually begins in the cells that line the inside of the esophagus. Esophageal cancer can occur anywhere along the esophagus, but in people in the United States, it occurs most often in the lower portion of the esophagus. More men than women get esophageal cancer.

Esophageal cancer isn't common in the United States. In other areas of the world, such as Asia and parts of Africa, esophageal cancer is much more common.

Signs and symptoms of esophageal cancer include:

Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
Weight loss without trying
Chest pain, pressure or burning
Fatigue
Frequent choking while eating
Indigestion or heartburn
Coughing or hoarseness
Early esophageal cancer typically causes no signs or symptoms.

When to see a doctor
Make an appointment with your doctor if you have any persistent signs and symptoms that worry you.

If you've been diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition that increases your risk of esophageal cancer caused by chronic acid reflux, ask your doctor what signs and symptoms to watch for that may signal that your condition is worsening.

Screening for esophageal cancer isn't done routinely because of a lack of an easily identifiable high-risk group and the possible risks associated with endoscopy. If you have Barrett's esophagus, discuss the pros and cons of screening with your doctor.

It's not clear what causes esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer occurs when cells in your esophagus develop errors (mutations) in their DNA. The errors make cells grow and divide out of control. The accumulating abnormal cells form a tumor in the esophagus that can grow to invade nearby structures and spread to other parts of the body.

Types of esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is classified according to the type of cells that are involved. The type of esophageal cancer you have helps determine your treatment options.

Types of esophageal cancer include:

Adenocarcinoma. Adenocarcinoma begins in the cells of mucus-secreting glands in the esophagus. Adenocarcinoma occurs most often in the lower portion of the esophagus. Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of esophageal cancer in the United States, and it affects primarily white men.
Squamous cell carcinoma. The squamous cells are flat, thin cells that line the surface of the esophagus. Squamous cell carcinoma occurs most often in the middle of the esophagus. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most prevalent esophageal cancer worldwide.

Other rare types. Rare forms of esophageal cancer include choriocarcinoma, lymphoma, melanoma, sarcoma and small cell cancer.

Thyroid Cancer Symptoms

Most often thyroid cancer symptoms is a nodule in the thyroid region of the neck.[2] However, many adults have small nodules in their thyroids, but typically under 5% of these nodules are found to be malignant. Sometimes the first sign is an enlarged lymph nod. Later symptoms that can be present are pain in the anterior region of the neck and changes in voice due to involvement of recurrent larygeal nerve.

Thyroid cancer is usually found in a euthyroid patient, but symptoms of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism may be associated with a large or metastatic well-differentiated tumor.
Thyroid nodules are of particular concern when they are found in those under the age of 20. The presentation of benign nodules at this age is less likely, and thus the potential for malignancy is far greater.

Diagnosis

Further information: Thyroid nodule
After a thyroid nodule is found during a physical examination, a referral to an endocrinologist, a thyroidologist or otolaryngologist may occur. Most commonly an ultrasound is performed to confirm the presence of a nodule, and assess the status of the whole gland. Measurement of thyroid stimulating hormone and anti-thyroid antibodies will help decide if there is a functional thyroid disease such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis present, a known cause of a benign nodular goiter. Finally, to achieve a definitive diagnosis before deciding on treatment, a fine needle aspiration cytology test is usually performed.

Classification

Thyroid cancers can be classified according to their histopathological characteristics. The following variants can be distinguished (distribution over various subtypes may show regional variation):
Papillary thyroid cancer (75% to 85% of cases ) – often in young females – excellent prognosis
Follicular thyroid cancer (10% to 20% of cases )
Medullary thyroid cancer (5%[6] to 8% of cases)- cancer of the parafollicular cells, often part of MEN-2 syndrome.
Anaplastic thyroid cancer (Less than 5%). It is not responsive to treatment and can cause pressure symptoms.

Lymphoma
Squamous cell carcinoma, sarcoma
The follicular and papillary types together can be classified as "differentiated thyroid cancer". These types have a more favorable prognosis than the medullary and undifferentiated types.
Papillary microcarcinoma is a subset of papillary thyroid cancer defined as measuring less than or equal to 1 cm. The highest incidence of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma in autopsy series was reported by Harach et al. in 1985, who found 36 of 101 consecutive autopsies were found to have an incidental microcarcinoma. Michael Pakdaman et al. report the highest incidence in a retrospective surgical series at 49.9% of 860 cases.[12] Management strategies for incidental papillary microcarcinoma on ultrasound (and confirmed on FNAB) range from total thyroidectomy with radioactive iodine ablation to observation alone. Harach et al. suggest using the term "occult papillary tumor" to avoid giving patients distress over having cancer. It was Woolner et al. who first arbitrarily coined the term "occult papillary carcinoma" in 1960, to describe papillary carcinomas ≤ 1.5 cm in diameter.

Etiology

From the 1940s to 1960s, external, low-dose radiation to the head and neck during infancy and childhood was used to treat many benign diseases. This type of therapy has been shown to predispose persons to thyroid cancer. The younger the patient was at time of exposure, the higher the risk of developing cancer.

Another cause may be due to high-dose irradiation to the head and neck. Patients with Hodgkin lymphoma treated with mantlefield irradiation have an increased risk of developing thyroid cancer, although hypothyroidism is more likely.

Detection of metastases

Detection of any metastases of thyroid cancer can be performed with a full body scintigraphy using iodine-131.

Treatment

Thyroid cancer may require surgery. Common surgeries include thyroidectomy, lobectomy, and tracheostomy.
Radioactive Iodine-131 is used in patients with papillary or follicular thyroid cancer for ablation of residual thyroid tissue after surgery and for the treatment of thyroid cancer. Patients with medullary, anaplastic, and most Hurthle cell cancers do not benefit from this therapy.

External irradiation may be used when the cancer is unresectable, when it recurs after resection, or to relieve pain from bone metastasis.
Sorafenib and sunitinib, approved for other indications show promise for thyroid cancer and are being used for some patients who do not qualify for clinical trials.[16] Numerous agents are in phase II clinical trials and XL184 has started a phase III trial.

Prognosis

The prognosis of thyroid cancer is related to the type of cancer and the stage at the time of diagnosis. For the most common form of thyroid cancer, papillary, the overall prognosis is excellent. Indeed, the increased incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma in recent years is likely related to increased and earlier diagnosis. One can look at the trend to earlier diagnosis in two ways. The first is that many of these cancers are small and not likely to develop into aggressive malignancies. A second perspective is that earlier diagnosis removes these cancers at a time when they are not likely to have spread beyond the thyroid gland, thereby improving the long-term outcome for the patient. There is no consensus at present on whether this trend toward earlier diagnosis is beneficial or unnecessary.

The argument against early diagnosis and treatment is based on the logic that many of small thyroid cancers (mostly papillary) will not grow or metastasize. This viewpoint holds the overwhelming majority of thyroid cancers are overdiagnosed (that is, will never cause any symptoms, illness, or death for the patient, even if nothing is ever done about the cancer). Including these overdiagnosed cases skews the statistics by lumping clinically significant cases in with apparently harmless cancers.

Thyroid cancer is incredibly common, with autopsy studies of people dying from other causes showing that more than one third of older adults technically has thyroid cancer, which is causing them no harm. It is easy to detect nodules that might be cancerous, simply by feeling the throat, which contributes to the level of overdiagnosis. However, very few of the people with these accidentally discovered, symptom-free thyroid cancers will ever have any symptoms, and treatment in such patients has only the potential to harm them, not to help them.

Thyroid Cancer is three times more common in women than in men, but according to European statistics, the overall relative 5-year survival rate for thyroid cancer is 85% for females and 74% for males.
The table below highlights some of the challenges with decision making and prognostication in thyroid cancer. While there is general agreement that stage I or II papillary, follicular or medullary cancer have a good prognosis, it is not possible when evaluating a small thyroid cancer to determine which ones will grow and metastasize and which will not. As a result once a diagnosis of thyroid cancer has been established (most commonly by a fine needle aspiration), it is likely that a total thyroidectomy will be performed. This drive to earlier diagnosis has also manifest itself on the European continent by the use of serum calcitonin measurements in patients with goiter to identify patients with early abnormalities of the parafollicular or calcitonin producing cells within the thyroid gland. As multiple studies have demonstrated, the finding of an elevated serum calcitonin is associated with the finding of a medullary thyroid carcinoma in as high as 20% of cases. Does the finding of a small medullary thyroid carcinoma (which may lie dormant) justify the performance of a total thyroidectomy (necessary to perform total thyroidectomy because the medullary thyroid carcinomas identified may be microscopic and not identified by imaging or evaluation of the thyroid gland at the time of surgery) with its attendant risk of permanent hypoparathyroidism (low calcium) and damage to the nerves innervating the vocal cords (causing permanent hoarseness in 2-4% of patients)? In Europe where the threshold for thyroid surgery is lower than in the United States, an elaborate strategy that incorporates serum calcitonin measurements and stimulatory tests for calcitonin has been incorporated into the decision to perform a thyroidectomy; thyroid experts in the USA, looking at the same data sets have, for the most part, not incorporated calcitonin testing as a routine part of their evaluation, thereby eliminating a large number of thyroidectomies and the consequent morbidity. The European thyroid community has focused on prevention of metastasis from small medullary thyroid carcinomas; the North American thyroid community has focused more on prevention of complications associated with thyroidectomy (see American Thyroid Association guidelines below). It is not clear at this time who is correct.

As clearly demonstrated in the Table below, individuals with stage III and IV disease have a significant risk of dying from thyroid cancer. While many present with widely metastatic disease, an equal number evolve over years and decades from stage I or II disease. As such, physicians who manage thyroid cancer of any stage treat it with respect and recognize that a small percentage of patients with low risk thyroid cancer will progress to develop metastatic disease and die. Fortunately, for those with metastatic thyroid cancer, the last 5 years has brought about a renaissance in thyroid cancer treatment. The identification of some of the molecular or DNA abnormalities for thyroid cancer has led to the development of therapies that target these molecular defects. The first of these agents to negotiate the approval process is vandetanib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets the RET proto-oncogene, 2 subtypes of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor and the epidermal growth factor receptor.[20] More of these compounds are under investigation and are likely to make it through the approval process. For differentiated thyroid carcinoma strategies are evolving to use selected types of targeted therapy to increase radioactive iodine uptake in papillary thyroid carcinomas that have lost the ability to concentrate iodide. This strategy would make it possible to use radioactive iodine therapy to treat "resistant" thyroid cancers. Other targeted therapies are being evaluated, making it possible that life will be extended over the next 5–10 years for those with stage III and IV thyroid cancer.

Prognosis is better in younger people than older ones.
Prognosis depends mainly on the type of cancer and cancer stage.

Throat Cancer Symptoms

Throat Cancer Symptoms include frequent cough, a sore throat, which does not go away, weight loss for no particular reason, problems while swallowing and breathing, ear pain, a lump either in the back of the throat or neck and sometimes even bleeding from the throat. You may also experience abnormal breathing sounds and having to clear the throat at different times. You may also suffer from throat cancer, if you have a sinus infection, which does not get treated with antibiotics. Sometimes headaches and swelling of the eye can also be regarded as one of the throat cancer symptoms. However, even if you are experiencing these throat cancer symptoms, it does not necessarily mean that you suffer from cancer, especially the advanced stages of cancer. However, most of the time, throat cancer is quite hard to detect and it usually does not get diagnosed at early stages. You need to get treated immediately if these throat cancer symptoms occur frequently and for a prolonged period.
How is it diagnosed?

You need to go to your doctor to get yourself treated, if you feel that you are experiencing throat cancer symptoms. You need to determine the cause of your symptoms and this can only be done through professional advice. Your doctor will perform various tests to determine the cause of your throat pain. An endoscopy may also be performed. In addition, X-rays, CT scans, PET scans and/ or MRI scans. However, this will be done according to your conditions. The biopsy is the most efficient way to perform this check, if you are suffering from a majority of these throat cancer symptoms.
So, what to do?

Many people regard these throat cancer symptoms as normal flu or simple sore throat, or a simple cold. However, it totally depends upon the chronic condition of these symptoms and how long they last. Therefore, you need to be careful and seek medical attention immediately. It does not do well to your health. Make radical lifestyle changes, if you smoke or drink too heavily.

Salivary Glands

Where Are Your Salivary Glands? The glands are found in and around your mouth and throat. We call the major salivary glands the parotid, submandibular, and sublingual glands.
They all secrete saliva into your mouth, the parotid through tubes that drain saliva, called salivary ducts, near your upper teeth, submandibular under your tongue, and the sublingual through many ducts in the floor of your mouth.

Besides these glands, there are many tiny glands called minor salivary glands located in your lips, inner cheek area (buccal mucosa), and extensively in other linings of your mouth and throat. Salivary glands produce the saliva used to moisten your mouth, initiate digestion, and help protect your teeth from decay.
As a good health measure, it is important to drink lots of liquids daily. Dehydration is a risk factor for salivary gland disease.

What Causes Salivary Gland Problems?
Salivary gland problems that cause clinical symptoms include:
Obstruction: Obstruction to the flow of saliva most commonly occurs in the parotid and submandibular glands, usually because stones have formed. Symptoms typically occur when eating. Saliva production starts to flow, but cannot exit the ductal system, leading to swelling of the involved gland and significant pain, sometimes with an infection. Unless stones totally obstruct saliva flow, the major glands will swell during eating and then gradually subside after eating, only to enlarge again at the next meal. Infection can develop in the pool of blocked saliva, leading to more severe pain and swelling in the glands. If untreated for a long time, the glands may become abscessed.

It is possible for the duct system of the major salivary glands that connects the glands to the mouth to be abnormal. These ducts can develop small constrictions, which decrease salivary flow, leading to infection and obstructive symptoms.
Infection: The most common salivary gland infection in children is mumps, which involves the parotid glands. While this is most common in children who have not been immunized, it can occur in adults. However, if an adult has swelling in the area of the parotid gland only on one side, it is more likely due to an obstruction or a tumor.

Infections also occur because of ductal obstruction or sluggish flow of saliva because the mouth has abundant bacteria.
You may have a secondary infection of salivary glands from nearby lymph nodes. These lymph nodes are the structures in the upper neck that often become tender during a common sore throat. In fact, many of these lymph nodes are actually located on, within, and deep in the substance of the parotid gland or near the submandibular glands. When these lymph nodes enlarge through infection, you may have a red, painful swelling in the area of the parotid or submandibular glands. Lymph nodes also enlarge due to tumors and inflammation.

Tumors: Primary benign and malignant salivary gland tumors usually show up as painless enlargements of these glands. Tumors rarely involve more than one gland and are detected as a growth in the parotid, submandibular area, on the palate, floor of mouth, cheeks, or lips. An otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon should check these enlargements.

Malignant tumors of the major salivary glands can grow quickly, may be painful, and can cause loss of movement of part or all of the affected side of the face. These symptoms should be immediately investigated.
Other Disorders: Salivary gland enlargement also occurs in autoimmune diseases such as HIV and Sjögren's syndrome where the body's immune system attacks the salivary glands causing significant inflammation. Dry mouth or dry eyes are common. This may occur with other systemic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Diabetes may cause enlargement of the salivary glands, especially the parotid glands. Alcoholics may have salivary gland swelling, usually on both sides.

How Does Your Doctor Make the Diagnosis?
Diagnosis of salivary gland disease depends on the careful taking of your history, a physical examination, and laboratory tests.
If your doctor suspects an obstruction of the major salivary glands, it may be necessary to anesthetize the opening of the salivary ducts in the mouth, and probe and dilate the duct to help an obstructive stone pass. Before these procedures, dental x-rays may show where the calcified stones are located.

If a mass is found in the salivary gland, it is helpful to obtain a CT scan or a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Sometimes, a fine needle aspiration biopsy in the doctor's office is helpful. Rarely, dye will be injected through the parotid duct before an x-ray of the gland is taken (a sialogram).
A lip biopsy of minor salivary glands may be needed to identify certain autoimmune diseases.

How Is Salivary Gland Disease Treated?
Treatment of salivary diseases falls into two categories: medical and surgical. Selection of treatment depends on the nature of the problem. If it is due to systemic diseases (diseases that involve the whole body, not one isolated area), then the underlying problem must be treated. This may require consulting with other specialists. If the disease process relates to salivary gland obstruction and subsequent infection, your doctor will recommend increased fluid intake and may prescribe antibiotics. Sometimes an instrument will be used to open blocked ducts.

If a mass has developed within the salivary gland, removal of the mass may be recommended. Most masses in the parotid gland area are benign (noncancerous). When surgery is necessary, great care must be taken to avoid damage to the facial nerve within this gland that moves the muscles face including the mouth and eye. When malignant masses are in the parotid gland, it may be possible to surgically remove them and preserve most of the facial nerve. Radiation treatment is often recommended after surgery. This is typically administered four to six weeks after the surgical procedure to allow adequate healing before irradiation.

The same general principles apply to masses in the submandibular area or in the minor salivary glands within the mouth and upper throat. Benign diseases are best treated by conservative measures or surgery, whereas malignant diseases may require surgery and postoperative irradiation. If the lump in the vicinity of a salivary gland is a lymph node that has become enlarged due to cancer from another site, then obviously a different treatment plan will be needed. An otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon can effectively direct treatment.

Removal of a salivary gland does not produce a dry mouth, called xerostomia. However, radiation therapy to the mouth can cause the unpleasant symptoms associated with reduced salivary flow. Your doctor can prescribe medication or other conservative treatments that may reduce the dryness in these instances.

Salivary gland diseases are due to many different causes. These diseases are treated both medically and surgically. Treatment is readily managed by an otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon with experience in this area.

Swollen Glands and Other Lumps

Swollen Glands and Other Lumps Under the Skin - Topic Overview. See pictures of swollen lymph nodes and common sites of swollen lymph nodes. Most swollen glands or lumps under the skin are not cause for concern. The glands (lymph nodes ) on either side of the neck, under the jaw, or behind the ears commonly swell when you have a cold or sore throat .

More serious infections may cause the glands to enlarge and become very firm and tender. Glands can also swell and become tender after an injury, such as a cut or bite, or when a tumor or infection occurs in the mouth, head, or neck.

Swollen glands and other lumps under the skin can be caused by many different things, including illness, infection, or another cause.

Infections
Swollen glands commonly develop when the body fights infections from colds, insect bites , or small cuts. More serious infections may cause the glands to enlarge and become firm, hard, or tender. Examples of such infections include:

Bacterial infections , such as:
Strep throat , caused by the streptococcus bacterium.
A boil (abscess ), similar to a large pimple. A boil may develop when a hair follicle or the skin becomes infected. A sweat gland abscess may form one or more lumps in the armpit that look like boils.

Viral infections , such as:
A viral infection of the skin (molluscum contagiosum ), which causes small pearly or flesh-colored bumps.
Measles , rubella , chickenpox , or mumps .

AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) , which develops in the late stage of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection. This virus attacks the immune system, making it difficult for the body to fight off infection and some diseases.

Mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus) or cytomegalovirus (CMV) . These viruses cause fever , sore throat, and fatigue .
Other infections, such as:
Lyme disease , an infection that is spread by certain types of ticks.

Syphilis , a sexually transmitted infection.
Noncancerous (benign) growths
Types of noncancerous (benign) growths, which are usually harmless, include:

A lipoma , a smooth, rubbery, dome-shaped lump that is easily movable under the skin.
A cyst , a sac of fluid and debris that sometimes hurts.

Cystic lesions from acne are large pimples that occur deep under the skin.
Branchial cleft cysts are found in the neck and do not usually cause problems unless they become infected. These cysts are most common in teenagers.

An epidermal cyst (also called a sebaceous cyst ) often appears on the scalp, ears, face, and back.
A ganglion is a soft, rubbery lump (a type of cyst) on the front or back of the wrist.

A thyroid nodule , which is an abnormal growth on the thyroid gland , or an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter ) in the neck just
below the Adam's apple. Tonsillitis may also cause swelling in the neck.

A salivary gland problem, such as inflammation, a salivary stone, an infection, or a tumor.
An inflammation of fatty tissue under the skin (erythema nodosum ) or overgrown scar tissue (keloid ).

Paratoid Gland Tumor

This blog is dedicated entirely to Parotid Gland Tumor and Surgery. If you have a parotid gland tumor and are faced with surgery, this site will answer many of your questions and concerns. Be sure to explore the links at the left. There are 100's of other people experiencing what you are, share messages with them at the forum page.

Parotid gland tumor are mostly benign. From the information I've been able to find, it seems only 20% are malignant. Recurrence of a benign tumor after excision occurs in only 10% of the patients. Hopefully, this will help put your mind at ease. However, the surgical procedure to remove the tumor, a parotidectomy, is difficult and risky due to the proximity of the gland and the facial nerves that control your face movement. I would encourage you to seek the most experienced surgeon you can find to perform this procedure.

On the left side of the page you will find links to a Discussion Page (Forum) with over 6,000 posts from people with parotid gland conditions, as well as information on the two parotidectomies I experienced for the removal of benign pleomorphic adenoma tumors of my right parotid gland. I've included my own view of the medical procedures, description of postoperative complications, surgical and pathological reports I obtained from the hospital, information on radiation treatments, and a link page to other information I've found useful on the Web.

I should note there are other conditions which have similar symptoms as a parotid tumor (lump in the jaw/neck/ear area). So far readers of the forum have informed us of Sebaceous Cysts, Cat Scratch Fever, and plugged parotid ducts. Check out the links page for more information on these conditions. Particularly Cat Scratch Fever if you have been scratched in the face by a kitten in the last two months.

View Post-Op Poll

I am running a "Post-Op Survey" which has been completed by over 50 people who have had Parotid Gland Surgery. It asks questions about their surgery experience.

Interactive Discussion Page

At the top left of each page you will find a link to an Interactive Discussion Page, better known as a bulletin board or forum. The board already contains over 10,000 posts from individuals who have undergone the parotidectomy procedure. Because this is a relatively rare condition and procedure, comfort is sometimes found in being able to talk to others who are experiencing what you are. Some of the individuals had procedures that went extremely well, others had numerous complications. Consider the experience and advice of these individuals, post questions of your own, let us know what's on your mind, and come back after your procedure and let us know how you are doing.

Instructions

While there have been over 100,000 messages, only 6,000 to 10,000 will remain active. The others are archived. The board is meant to be a continuous conversation. . However, when you first arrive you may see very few. This is because the board only displays messages from the last two weeks by default. You may change this to 4 weeks or 2 months. Select "Set Preferences" from the menu bar at the top of the discussion page. I would suggest changing the setting to 12 weeks. Use this same menu bar to learn more about the discussion page.

The board will be more or less active depending on the time of year, holidays, and most importantly, how the search engines are listing it. Unlike other boards, it is unlikely that this site will grow by word of mouth.