Intraoperative distance between the main trunk of the facial nerve and surgical landmarks used in parotidectomy: A prospective study

ABSTRACT

@#p style=text-align justify;strongOBJECTIVE:/strong To determine the mean distance of the main trunk of the facial nerve from two commonly employed surgical landmarks (tragal pointer and tympanomastoid suture line) among a sample a Filipino adults undergoing parotidectomy.METHODS:br /Design:/strong Prospective descriptive studybr /strongSetting: /strongTertiary Government Training Studybr /strongSubjects:/strong 22 patients without facial paralysis undergoing surgery for parotid neoplasms were evaluated intraoperatively.RESULTS/strong The main trunk of the facial nerve was found to be 9.0 mm (standard deviation of 2.8 mm) from the tragal pointer and 6.1 mm (standard deviation of 2.0 mm) from the tympanomastoid suture line.CONCLUSION/strong The mean distance from the main trunk of the facial nerve to two of the most commonly utilized landmarks in identification of the nerve during parotidectomy was 9.0 mm (standard deviation of 2.8 mm) from the tragal pointer and 6.1 mm (standard deviation of 2.0 mm) from the tympanomastoid suture line. These may serve as reference values for surgeons in safer identification and preservation of the facial nerve during parotidectomy.