title: The role of great auricular-facial nerve neurorrhaphy in facial nerve damage.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Facial nerve is easy to be damaged, and there are many reconstructive methods for facial nerve reconstructive, such as facial nerve end to end anastomosis, the great auricular nerve graft, the sural nerve graft, or hypoglossal-facial nerve anastomosis. However, there is still little study about great auricular-facial nerve neurorrhaphy. The aim of the present study was to identify the role of great auricular-facial nerve neurorrhaphy and the mechanism.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rat models of facial nerve cut (FC), facial nerve end to end anastomosis (FF), facial-great auricular neurorrhaphy (FG), and control (Ctrl) were established. Apex nasi amesiality observation, electrophysiology and immunofluorescence assays were employed to investigate the function and mechanism.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In apex nasi amesiality observation, it was found apex nasi amesiality of FG group was partly recovered. Additionally, electrophysiology and immunofluorescence assays revealed that facial-great auricular neurorrhaphy could transfer nerve impulse and express AChR which was better than facial nerve cut and worse than facial nerve end to end anastomosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study indicated that great auricular-facial nerve neurorrhaphy is a substantial solution for facial lesion repair, as it is efficiently preventing facial muscles atrophy by generating neurotransmitter like ACh.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University Jinan 250022, China ; Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Yuhuangding Hospital of Qingdao University Yantai 264000, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Yuhuangding Hospital of Qingdao University Yantai 264000, China.
authors.forename: Limei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University Jinan 250022, China.
authors.forename: Yuechen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University Jinan 250022, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University Jinan 250022, China.
authors.forename: Daogong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University Jinan 250022, China.
authors.forename: Haibo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: AChR; Facial nerve; great auricular nerve; nerve neurorrhaphy