Facial nerve injury during surgery of the temporomandibular joint: a comparison of two dissection techniques.
Changing the dissection technique for gaining access to the temporomandibular joint decreased the incidence of facial nerve injury from 25% to 1.7%. This decrease can be attributed to the elimination of both development of a skin flap and dissection of tissue overlying the lateral capsule. Normal anatomic variation in the distribution of facial nerve branches may relate to the incidence of clinically apparent injury.
D062109:Dermatologic Surgical Procedures; D004210:Dissection / Q000379:methods*; D005152:Facial Muscles / Q000294:innervation; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D020220:Facial Nerve Injuries; D000071938:Fasciotomy; D006801:Humans; D010243:Paralysis / Q000209:etiology; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013703:Temporal Muscle / Q000601:surgery; D013704:Temporomandibular Joint / Q000601:surgery*