Facial Reanimation According to the Post-Resection Defect During Lateral Skull Base Surgery

The vast majority of benign tumors of the cerebellopontine angle, temporal bone, and parotid gland can be successfully resected without permanent injury to the facial nerve. Malignant tumors or recurrent disease may require facial nerve sacrifice, especially if preoperative facial paresis is present. The method of facial reanimation used depends on the availability of viable proximal facial nerve, the location of healthy, tumor-free distal facial nerve, and the presence of functioning facial mimetic musculature.

This paper presents case examples of the various methods to reconstruct facial reanimation following lateral skull base resections that require sacrifice of cranial nerve VII, and the associated mimetic facial musculature.