The parotid glands are glands on both sides of your face, in front of each ear. They make saliva.
Parotid gland surgery, also called a parotidectomy is used to remove a cancerous or benign mass in the parotid gland. In most cases, you'll only have surgery on one parotid gland, but you may have all or part of the gland removed and may need to have the facial nerve that runs through the gland cut.