Feinmesser G, Feinmesser R, Alon E, et al. - As the importance of parotidectomy in older patients is unknown, researchers used a Markov model with Monte Carlo simulation to compare findings in patients of various ages with parotid gland pleomorphic adenoma treated by surgery or surveillance. Surgery provided a 3.5-year increase in life expectancy for 30-year-old patients, while it was just 0.74 months for 75-year-olds. Sensitivity analysis found that the only parameter that significantly contributed to life expectancy was age. The benefits of surgery in older patients have been minimal. The Markov decision-analysis model shows that, relative to surveillance, patients older than 65 years with pleomorphic adenoma have a small survival benefit with surgery.