ABSTRACT
Wide resection of a malignant tumor in the parotid gland often results in loss of
a long segment of facial nerve, as well as a soft-tissue defect. With conventional
nerve grafts, functional recovery of the facial nerve is poor in cases with risk factors
that might inhibit nerve regeneration, such as a history of irradiation and a recipient
bed scarred from previous operations. For such cases, a vascularized nerve graft is
reported to be more effective than a nonvascularized nerve graft. This paper describes
the first successful use of a free vascularized lateral femoral cutaneous nerve graft
combined with an anterolateral thigh flap to repair the facial nerve and a soft-tissue
defect. This method is technically simple, has minimal donor-site morbidity, and typically
results in successful nerve recovery.
KEYWORDS
Vascularized nerve graft - anterolateral thigh flap - facial nerve repair
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Takuya IidaM.D.
Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Shizuoka Cancer Center
1007 Shimonagakubo, Nagaizumi, Shizuoka, 411-8777, Japan