FACIAL NERVE BRANCHING PATTERN AS SEEN IN PAROTIDECTOMY IN INDIAN POPULATION – A SINGLE CENTRE EXPERIENCE

Noor Ul Din Malik, Deepak Verma*, Shalini Varshney, Mohamed Shareef, Shweta Gupta

ABSTRACT

Objective: A prospective study to analyze the facial nerve branching pattern as seen in superficial parotidectomy in Indian population. Methods: The prospective study was conducted in 20 patients undergoing superficial parotidectomy in a tertiary referral centre. Facial nerve branching pattern was classified according to the description given by Davis. Length of the main trunk of facial nerve and relationship of facial nerve to tympanomastoid suture was determined and recorded using sterile measure (wire/thread) which was then measured on caliper. Results: The most common type of branching pattern of facial nerve in our study was type I seen in 8 (40%) patients, followed by type III seen in 5 (25%), followed by type II in 3 (15%), type IV in 2 (10%) patients, followed by type V and VI each in 1 (5%) patient. 15 (75%) patients had an average length of main trunk of facial nerve between 16 – 20 mm. In 12 (60%) patients, the distance of facial nerve from tympanomastoid suture was between 2.5-3mm. Conclusion: Type I branching pattern is the most common branching pattern of the facial nerve (40%) followed by type III (25%), following the pattern as described by Davis. Average length of main trunk of facial nerve in the present study was 16.45mm and most of the patients had the length between 16-20 mm.

Keywords: Superficial parotidectomy; facial nerve; branching pattern; tympanomastoid suture.