Salivary gland tumors occuring in aberrant locations are relatively rare.
It is generally accepted that the aberrant salivary gland tumors are more malignant than those in the major glands, yet, many recent papers continue to describe simple enucleation as the treatment of choice.
The authors describe a case of mixed tumor occurring in the hard palate of a female of 29 years. The tumor that had benign histological features initially, was subjected to repeated recurrence and repeated operations during a period of 14 years and finally became malignant. The tumors invaded the large part of the maxillary bone and a total maxillectomy was performed.
The authors stress that the removal of the tumor together with an adequate margin of the normal soft and bony tissues should be performed at the initial operation for this type of tumor.