The significance of assessing the perineural vascular plexus for locating the facial nerve in microsurgery of the ear.
CONCLUSIONS
The perineural vascular plexus is a reliable indicator for the detection of the horizontal segment of the facial nerve in surgery for otologists and neurologists.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the validity and reliability of the perineural vascular plexus for locating the facial nerve in microsurgery of the ear to avoid iatrogenic facial paralysis.


METHODS
Our study group comprised 311 patients who underwent tympanoplasty or facial nerve decompression from July 2002 to July 2005. The validity of using the perineural vascular plexus to locate the facial nerve was observed and assessed.


RESULTS
The perineural vascular plexus was well differentiated on the horizontal mesotympanic segment of the nerve in 95.8% of patients. The 95% confidence interval was 93.6-98.0%.
Bing
Chen
C
Department of Otology and Skull Base Surgery, Eye Ear Nose & Throat Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China. bchen@citiz.net
Pei-Yun
Zhuang
Z
Ya-Sheng
Yuan
Y
Yue
Deng
D
Zheng-Min
Wang
W
D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000294:innervation*; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care; D008833:Microcirculation; D008866:Microsurgery; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000294:innervation*; D014433:Tympanoplasty