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Facial nerve neurorrhaphy due to unexpected facial nerve injury during parotid gland tumor surgery

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European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Unexpected facial nerve damage can occur during parotid gland tumor surgery. We sought to determine the incidence and treatment outcomes of unexpected facial nerve injuries in patients with parotid gland tumor surgery.

Methods

We retrospectively enrolled in this study five patients, who underwent facial nerve neurorrhaphy due to unexpected facial nerve injury during parotid gland tumor surgery January 2012–August 2019.

Results

There were five patients (0.008%) with unexpected facial nerve injuries during the parotid gland tumor surgery of 577 patients in our hospital for approximately 8 years. The most common injury site of facial nerve was the marginal mandibular branch (n = 3), followed by the buccal branch (n = 1), and the cervicofacial division (n = 1). In the case of unexpected facial nerve damage, our treatment is immediate primary neurorrhaphy and steroid treatment. Three patients of five recovered and two did not worsen immediately after surgery.

Conclusion

Unexpected facial nerve injury during parotid gland tumor surgery is extremely unfortunate. In this case, immediate primary neurorrhaphy and systemic steroids are recommended to restore facial function and reduce cosmetic deficits.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School and Hwasun Hospital, 160 Ilsimri, Hwasun, Jeonnam, 519-809, South Korea

    Se Hyun Jeong, Hee Young Kim, Dong Hoon Lee, Joon Kyoo Lee & Sang Chul Lim

Authors
  1. Se Hyun Jeong
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  2. Hee Young Kim
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  3. Dong Hoon Lee
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  4. Joon Kyoo Lee
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  5. Sang Chul Lim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dong Hoon Lee.

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All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Jeong, S.H., Kim, H.Y., Lee, D.H. et al. Facial nerve neurorrhaphy due to unexpected facial nerve injury during parotid gland tumor surgery. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 277, 2315–2318 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-020-05931-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-020-05931-x

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