A novel method of grafting facial nerve defects resulting from parotidectomy

The sacrifice of the facial nerve is an uncommon consequence of parotidectomy for cancer resection. In the cases described here, the facial nerve was necessarily resected due to an infiltrating tumour. Seven cases of facial nerve sacrifice that were reconstructed with a novel, sural nerve construct are presented. The sural nerve construct facilitates facial nerve reconstruction, especially in the case of multiple branch involvement and a short, proximal nerve stump. Evaluation of these cases shows acceptable facial nerve function following this technique. The use of this technique may prove advantageous in any instance of nerve grafting where multiple nerve branches are encountered.