New one-stage nerve pedicle grafting technique using the great auricular nerve for reconstruction of facial nerve defects.
A new one-stage nerve pedicle grafting technique, employing a vascularized great auricular nerve graft, was used to repair a facial nerve defect. The facial nerve of a 39-year-old woman with facial schwannoma was resected, and an island vascularized great auricular nerve graft from the ipsilateral side was transferred to bridge a 4 cm long defect of the buccal branch. Postoperatively, rapid nerve sprouting through the vascularized nerve graft and excellent facial reanimation were obtained within 6 months after surgery. This method in one-stage using a vascularized nerve graft is technically easy, requires a short operating time, has minimal donor-site morbidity, and leads to successful nerve regeneration postoperatively.
Koshima
Isao
I
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.
Nanba
Yazaburo
Y
Tsutsui
Tetsuya
T
Takahashi
Yoshio
Y
Itoh
Seiko
S
D000328:Adult; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000601:surgery*; D005155:Facial Nerve Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008866:Microsurgery; D016067:Nerve Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000601:surgery*; D010524:Peripheral Nervous System Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures