Why is a parotidectomy so invasive? i've seen organs removed and many other surgeries with minimal cutting/lasers, etc. but the pics i've seen of a parotidectomy look very invasive! must they pull back so much of the face/skin to do it?

Many measures are recommended before a parotidectomy is considered - usually for a tumor - most of which are benign (80%). This is a heavily neurovascular area: the facial nerve invests within the tissue and needs to be protected. The skin is pulled back to expose the tissue from the jawline (concealing) incision. It takes between 2 and 5 hours to complete; less invasive procedures do exist