Otolaryngologists and iatrogenic facial nerve injury: a meta-analysis

Abstract

BackgroundIatrogenic facial nerve injury is one of the otolaryngologists’ major fears during surgeries. Despite technological advances, the risk of iatrogenic facial nerve palsy remains high. The aim of this study is to meta-analyse papers published about different iatrogenic causes of facial nerve injury. This is a meta-analysis study carried out at ENT departments of Cairo and MUST universities from April to October 2022. It was structured according to the recommendations of the reporting system for meta-analysis (PRISMA).ResultsA total of 168 manuscripts were revised, and after the comprehensive search, 44 studies met our inclusion criteria; 736 cases out of 15,846 (4.6%) were included. The patients who underwent otolaryngologic surgeries are 716 (97.3%), and those who underwent other related procedures are 20 (2.7%).ConclusionMultiple causes of iatrogenic facial nerve injury have been reported. The commonest cause is parotid surgeries (364 cases, 49.5%), and the least common cause is arterial embolization (3 cases, 0.4%). It is more common in females more than males and in adults more than young. The most common injured part is extra-temporal part (199 cases, 27%), and the marginal mandibular branch is the most common injured branch in (160 cases, 21.7%). Geographically, it is more distributed in Germany (175 cases, 23.8%).