Intraoperative Distance Between the Main Trunk of the Facial Nerve and Surgical Landmarks Used in Parotidectomy: A Prospective Study

Abstract

Objective: to determine the mean distance of the main trunk of the facial nerve from two commonly employed surgical landmarks (tragal pointer and tympanomastoid suture line) among a sample of Filipino adults undergoing parotidectomy.
  
 Methods
 Study Design:            Prospective Descriptive Study
 Setting:                       Tertiary Government Training Hospital
 Subjects:                    22 patients without facial paralysis undergoing surgery for parotid neoplasms were evaluated intraoperatively.
  
 Results: The main trunk of the facial nerve was found to be 9.0mm (standard deviation of 2.8mm) from the tragal pointer and 6.1mm (standard deviation of 2.0mm) from the tympanomastoid suture line.
  
 Conclusion:  The mean distance from the main trunk of the facial nerve to two of the most commonly utilized landmarks in identification of the nerve during parotidectomy was 9.0mm (standard deviation of 2.8mm) from the tragal pointer and 6.1mm (standard deviation of 2.0mm) from the tympanomastoid suture line. These may serve as reference values for surgeons in safer identification and preservation of the facial nerve during parotidectomy.
  
 Keywords: facial nerve, parotidectomy, tragal pointer, tympanomastoid suture line, anatomic landmarks