UNASSIGNED: To determine the functional outcome after facial nerve reconstruction surgery in patients with flaccid facial paralysis.
UNASSIGNED: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed on studies reporting outcomes after direct facial nerve suture (DFS), facial nerve interpositional graft suture (FIGS), hypoglossal-facial nerve suture (HFS), masseteric-facial nerve suture (MFS), and cross-face nerve suture (CFS). These studies were identified from PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science databases. Two independent reviewers performed two-stage screening and data extraction. A favorable result was defined as a final House-Brackmann grade I-III and is presented as a ratio of all patients in percentage. Pooled proportions were calculated using random-effects models.
UNASSIGNED: From 4,932 screened records, 54 studies with 1,358 patients were included. A favorable result was achieved after DFS in 42.67% of the patients [confidence interval (CI): 26.05%-61.12%], after FIGS in 66.43% (CI: 55.99%-75.47%), after HFS in 63.89% (95% CI: 54.83%-72.05%), after MFS in 63.11% (CI: 38.53%-82.37%), and after CFS in 46.67% (CI: 24.09%-70.70%). There was no statistically significant difference between the techniques (Q = 6.56, degrees of freedom = 4, p = 0.1611).
UNASSIGNED: The established facial nerve reconstruction techniques including the single nerve cross-transfer techniques produce satisfactory results in most of the patients with permanent flaccid facial paralysis. An international consensus on standardized outcome measures would improve the comparability of facial reanimation techniques.

OBJECTIVE: Facial nerve sacrifice during radical parotidectomy can impair quality of life. This study assessed the effectiveness of single-stage facial reanimation surgery performed concurrently with radical parotidectomy in restoring facial function.
METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who underwent single-stage facial reanimation combined with radical parotidectomy. The techniques employed included selective reinnervation and orthodromic temporalis tendon transfer. Outcomes were evaluated using the modified House-Brackmann and Terzis grading systems, Emotrics facial assessment, and the Facial Disability Index (FDI).
RESULTS: Among the 13 patients studied (median age, 54 years; 69% male), 10 underwent selective reinnervation. Of these, nine patients demonstrated improvement, achieving House-Brackmann grade III and Terzis grade 4 or 5. The other three patients underwent tendon transfer and achieved moderate functional outcomes. Emotrics analysis revealed balanced facial symmetry in the selective reinnervation group. Furthermore, FDI scores indicated satisfactory physical and social/well-being functions.
CONCLUSIONS: Single-stage facial reanimation effectively restores facial function in patients undergoing radical parotidectomy. This approach offers meaningful benefits in the early recovery of facial function.

Background: Parotidectomies are indicated for a variety of reasons. Regardless of the indication for surgery, facial reanimation may be required because of facial nerve sacrifice or iatrogenic damage. In these cases, facial restoration performed concurrently with ablative surgery is considered the gold standard, and delayed reanimation is usually not attempted. Methods: A retrospective review of all patients who underwent parotidectomies from 2009 to 2022 in a single institution was performed. Indications, surgical techniques, and outcomes of an algorithmic template were applied to these cases using the Sunnybrook, Terzis scores, and Smile Index. A comparison was made between immediate vs. late repairs. Results: Of a total of 90 patients who underwent parotidectomy, 17 (15.3%) had a radical parotidectomy, and 73 (84.7%) had a total or superficial parotidectomy. Among those who underwent complete removal of the gland and nerve sacrifice, eight patients (47.1%) had facial restoration. There were four patients each in the immediate (n = 4) and late repair (n = 4) groups. Surgical techniques ranged from cable grafts to vascularized cross facial nerve grafts (sural communicating nerve flap as per the Koshima procedure) and vascularized nerve flaps (chimeric vastus lateralis and anterolateral thigh flaps, and superficial circumflex perforator flap with lateral femoral cutaneous nerve). Conclusions: The algorithm between one technique and another should take into consideration age, comorbidities, soft tissue defects, presence of facial nerve branches for reinnervation, and donor site morbidity. While immediate facial nerve repair is ideal, there is still benefit in performing a delayed repair in this algorithm.

Facial nerve palsy can cause diminished eyelid closure (lagophthalmos). This occurs due to functional deficits of the orbicularis oculi muscle, potentially leading to sight-threatening complications due to corneal exposure. Current management options range from frequent lubrication with eye drops, to the use of moisture chambers and surgery. However, achieving functional restoration may not always be possible. Recent efforts have been directed towards the support of orbicularis oculi muscle function through electrical stimulation. Electrical stimulation of the orbicularis oculi muscle has been demonstrated as feasible in human subjects. This article offers a comprehensive review of electrical stimulation parameters necessary to achieve full functionality and a natural-looking eye blink in human subjects. At present, readily available portable electrical stimulation devices remain unavailable. This review lays the foundation for advancing knowledge from laboratory research to clinical practice, with the ultimate objective of developing a portable electrical stimulation device. Further research is essential to enhance our understanding of electrical stimulation, establish safety standards, determine optimal current settings, and investigate potential side effects.

For patients diagnosed with advanced malignant parotid tumour, radical parotidectomy with facial nerve sacrifice is part of the treatment. Multiple surgical techniques have been developed to cure facial paralysis in order to restore the function and aesthetics of the face. Despite the large number of publications over time on facial nerve reanimation, a consensus on the timing of the procedure or the donor graft selection has remained to be established. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to conduct a bibliometric analysis to identify and analyse scientific publications on the reconstruction of the facial nerve of patients who underwent radical parotidectomy with facial nerve sacrifice. The analysis on the topic was conducted using the built-in tool of the Scopus database and VOSviewer software. The first 100 most cited articles were separately reviewed to address the aim of the study. No consensus was found regarding the recommended surgical techniques for facial nerve reanimation. The most used donor cranial nerves for transfer included the following: Masseteric branch of the V nerve, contralateral VII nerve with cross-face graft, the XI nerve and the XII nerve. The best timing of surgery is also controversial depending on pre-exiting pathology and degree of nerve degeneration. However, most of the clinical experience suggests facial nerve restoration immediately after the ablative procedure to reduce complications and improve patients\' quality of life.

UNASSIGNED: Facial palsy affects patients of all backgrounds, yet no existing studies describe differences in its treatment patterns between demographic groups.
UNASSIGNED: We used the National Surgical Quality Improvement Project database to investigate whether race and sex disparities exist in facial reanimation surgery. Patients were identified using CPT codes corresponding to facial-nerve procedures.
UNASSIGNED: Seven hundred sixty-one patients met criteria; 681 self-identified as White (89.5%), 51 as Black (6.7%), 43 as Hispanic (5.6%), 23 as Asian (3.0%), and 5 patients as other (0.61%). White patients were more than twice as likely to undergo brow ptosis repair than Non-White patients (OR 2.49, 95% CI 1.16-6.15, p = .03). After controlling for malignancy, men had longer operative times than women (480.2 vs. 413.9 min, p = .04) and higher likelihood of free tissue transfer (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.9-9.8), fascial free tissue transfer (OR 10.7, 95% CI 2.1-195), and ectropion repair (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2-2.8).
UNASSIGNED: Most patients undergoing facial reanimation surgery in the United States are White. Men have longer operative times and a higher likelihood of undergoing free fascial grafts and cutaneous and fascial free tissue transfer than women regardless of malignancy status.
UNASSIGNED: 2c.

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the commonest malignant salivary gland tumor affecting the parotid gland in adults and children. In children and adolescents, there is a peak incidence in the second decade. We came across a 6-year-old girl with intermediate-grade MEC parotid gland, which is very unusual below 10 years of age. A global literature search revealed only 3 other similar cases in children below 10 years of age. She presented with a 2-year history of left parotid gradually increasing hard swelling involving the overlying skin and underlying sternocleidomastoid muscle which was confirmed on a contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) scan of the face and neck as well as a core biopsy to be a MEC left parotid. The patient underwent a left radical parotidectomy sacrificing the main trunk of the facial nerve while carefully preserving its distal branches along with a left selective neck dissection (SND) followed by facial reanimation using primary neurorrhaphy. Histopathology confirmed an intermediate-grade MEC pT4aN2bMx with close deep lobe margin warranting adjuvant radiotherapy. Albeit very rare, salivary gland neoplasms may occur in children in the first decade of life. Appropriate planning regarding oncological resection with/without facial reanimation, appropriate rehabilitation followed by adjuvant treatment based on histopathology ensures a good prognosis.

This is a video demonstration of hemihypoglossal-facial neurorrhaphy. Any irreversible facial palsy more than House-Brackmann grade II is aesthetically problematic. Also, the functional and psychological impact associated with a higher grade of facial palsy is even worse. In this video, the procedure is demonstrated in a female patient with irreversible grade VI facial palsy and corneal opacity due to exposure keratitis 1 year following surgical excision of cerebellopontine angle (CPA) schwannoma. Postoperative outcomes are shown in another patient who underwent a similar procedure for establishing outcomes. The nasolabial fold and eye closure symmetry can be achieved with minimal or no hypoglossal morbidity. The video can be found here: https://stream.cadmore.media/r10.3171/2022.10.FOCVID2290.

BACKGROUND: The grading process in facial palsy (FP) patients is crucial for time- and cost-effective therapy decision-making. The House-Brackmann scale (HBS) represents the most commonly used classification system in FP diagnostics. This study investigated the benefits of linking machine learning (ML) techniques with the HBS.
METHODS: Image datasets of 51 patients seen at the Department of Plastic, Hand, and Reconstructive Surgery at the University Hospital Regensburg, Germany, between June 2020 and May 2021, were used to build the neural network. A total of nine facial poses per patient were used to automatically determine the HBS.
RESULTS: The algorithm had an accuracy of 98%. The algorithm processed the real patient image series (i.e., nine images per patient) in 112 ms. For optimized accuracy, we found 30 training runs to be the most effective training length.
CONCLUSIONS: We have developed an easy-to-use, time- and cost-efficient algorithm that provides highly accurate automated grading of FP patient images. In combination with our application, the algorithm may facilitate the FP surgeon\'s clinical workflow.

Background  With 500 million tweets posted daily, Twitter can provide valuable insights about public discourse surrounding niche topics, such as facial paralysis surgery. This study aims to describe public interest on Twitter relating to facial paralysis and facial reanimation surgery over the last decade. Methods  Tweets containing the keywords \"facial paralysis\" and \"Bell\'s palsy\" posted between January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2019, were collected using Twitter Scraper. Tweets were screened by keywords relating to facial paralysis, and usage of these terms trended over time. Logistic regression was used to identify correlations between the quantity of publications per year and these terms posted on Twitter. Results  32,880 tweets were made during the study period, with no significant difference in the number of tweets per year. A very strong ( r  = 0.8-1.0) positive correlation was found between time and frequency of the term \"plastic surgery\" and \"transfer\" ( p  < 0.05). A strong ( r  = 0.60-0.79) correlation was found between time and frequency for the following terms: \"facial reanimation,\" \"gracilis,\" \"masseter,\" \"plastics,\" \"transplant\" ( p  < 0.05). A total of 619 studies with the keyword \"facial reanimation\" were published in PubMed within the study period. A very strong, positive correlation between publications per year and frequency was found for the terms \"plastic surgery,\" \"function\" and \"esthetic,\" and a strong, positive correlation was found for the \"plastics,\" \"transplant,\" \"Botox,\" \"surgery,\" \"cosmetic,\" \"aesthetic\" and \"injection\" ( p  < 0.05). Conclusions  An increasing number of discussion about facial paralysis on Twitter correlates with increased publications and likely surgeon discourse on facial reanimation surgery, driving public interest.