Clinical characteristics and outcomes of intratemporal facial nerve neurofibromas

Abstract

This study aimed to present clinical features and outcomes of 10 patients with intratemporal facial nerve neurofibromas. The ten patients underwent complete tumor removal, and nerve grafting was performed on 3 cases whose nerve integrity was sacrificed. They were followed up after surgery. All patients firstly complained of facial palsy, and progressive sensorineural hearing loss was also present in one case. Insidious onset of facial palsy was found in 6 of 10 cases (60.0%). There was multi-segment involvement in 5 of 10 cases (50.0%). During the follow-up of 4.2±1.5 ys (range, 2-6 ys), 1 of 6 cases who successfully maintained nerve integrity recovered to Grade III, and the others remained or recovered to Grade V or even Grade VI. In contrast, all of the 3 cases with nerve grafting recovered from Grade VI to Grade III or Grade IV. No tumor recurrence was noted. Facial nerve neurofibromas mainly presented with insidious facial palsy, and tended to affect multiple segments of facial nerve. It seemed that complete tumor removal and nerve grafting had better outcomes of facial nerve compared to complete tumor removal with nerve integrity preserved.