[Otitis media with effusion as initial symptom of a parapharyngeal tumor]

Two patients are described who had unilateral otitis media with effusion (OME) as the first and only symptom of a parapharyngeal tumour. The first patient, a 77-year-old woman, was operated 14 months after the onset of the OME. A polymorphous adenocarcinoma was resected from the left parapharyngeal space. In the second patient, a 59-year-old man, the diagnosis was established 7 months after the first symptom. A pleomorphic adenoma was removed surgically from the right parapharyngeal space. In case of a persistent unilateral OME in an adult, a parapharyngeal tumour should be considered as one of the possible causes.