Facial reanimation with interposition nerve graft or masseter nerve transfer:a comparative retrospective study

Both interposition nerve grafts and masseter nerve transfers have been successfully used for facial reanimation after irreversible injuries to the cranial portion of the facial nerve.However,no comparative study of these two procedures has yet been reported.In this two-site,twoarm,retrospective case review study,32 patients were included.Of these,17 patients(eight men and nine women,mean age 42.1 years)underwent interposition nerve graft after tumor extirpation or trauma between 2003 and 2006 in the Ear Institute,School of Medicine,Shanghai Jiao Tong University,China,and 15 patients(six men and nine women,mean age 40.6 years)underwent masseter-to-facial nerve transfer after tumor extirpation or trauma between November 2010 and February 2016 in Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital,China.More patients achieved House-Brackmann III recovery after masseter nerve repair than interposition nerve graft repair(15/15 vs.12/17).The mean oral commissure excursion ratio was also higher in patients who underwent masseter nerve transfer than in patients subjected to an interposition nerve graft.These findings suggest that masseter nerve transfer results in strong oral commissure excursion,avoiding obvious synkinesis,while an interposition nerve graft provides better resting symmetry.This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee,Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital,China(approval No.SH9 H-2019-T332-1)on December 12,2019.

Role of stem cells-based in facial nerve reanimation:A meta-analysis of histological and neurophysiological outcomes

BACKGROUND Treatments involving stem cell(SC)usage represent novel and potentially interesting alternatives in facial nerve reanimation.Current literature includes the use of SC in animal model studies to promote graft survival by enhancing nerve fiber growth,spreading,myelinization,in addition to limiting fibrotic degeneration after surgery.However,the effectiveness of the clinical use of SC in facial nerve reanimation has not been clarified yet.AIM To investigate the histological,neurophysiological,and functional outcomes in facial reanimation using SC,compared to autograft.METHODS Our study is a systematic review of the literature,consistently conducted according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses statement guidelines.The review question was:In facial nerve reanimation on rats,has the use of stem cells revealed as effective when compared to autograft,in terms of histological,neurophysiological,and functional outcomes?Random-effect meta-analysis was conducted on histological and neurophysiological data from the included comparative studies.RESULTS After screening 148 manuscript,five papers were included in our study.43 subjects were included in the SC group,while 40 in the autograft group.The meta-analysis showed no significative differences between the two groups in terms of myelin thickness[CI:-0.10(-0.20,0.00);I^(2)=29%;P=0.06],nerve fibers diameter[CI:0.72(-0.93,3.36);I^(2)=72%;P=0.6],compound muscle action potential amplitude[CI:1.59(0.59,3.77);I^(2)=89%;P=0.15]and latency[CI:0.66(-1.01,2.32);I^(2)=67%;P=0.44].The mean axonal diameter was higher in the autograft group[CI:0.94(0.60,1.27);I^(2)=0%;P≤0.001].CONCLUSION The role of stem cells in facial reanimation is still relatively poorly studied,in animal models,and available results should not discourage their use in future studies on human subjects.

Distal median and radial nerve branch transfer techniques for upper extremity reanimation

Nerve transfers for peripheral nerve injuries have become increasingly popular over the past two decades.While techniques for ulnar nerve repair have been well-documented,more recent techniques for median and radial nerve branch reinnervation are still being explored.This review describes the outcomes of common and emerging techniques for reinnervation of the distal branches of the median and radial nerves.