Facial nerve grading

Introduction Parotidectomy is a well recognized and common surgical procedure used to treat tumors in the parotid gland. Therefore, existing scales assessing facial nerve function are compared to describe facial nerve outcomes after parotidectomy. All of the correlation coefficients exceeded 0. Values of intraclass correlation coefficient ICC for the tested systems ranged 0. The five regions of the face and neck innervated by the 7th cranial nerve forehead, eye, cheek, mouth, neck and the degree of impairment of each region should be included in any new grading system. Discussion Adequate assessment of the facial nerve function after parotidectomy requires attention to the individual facial nerve branch deficits and their degree of function. The comparison of facial grading systems.

The recess is identified using the incus, chorda tympani, and horizontal semicircular canal as landmarks. The labyrinthine segment is the narrowest part of the facial nerve and is susceptible to compression by means of edema. Topographic landmarks, shown in the image below, can serve as guides for locating the course of the facial nerve and its branches.