The significance of assessing the perineural vascular plexus for locating the facial nerve in microsurgery of the ear

Abstract

Conclusions. The perineural vascular plexus is a reliable indicator for the detection of the horizontal segment of the facial nerve in surgery for otologists and neurologists. Objective. To evaluate the validity and reliability of the perineural vascular plexus for locating the facial nerve in microsurgery of the ear to avoid iatrogenic facial paralysis. Patients and methods. Our study group comprised 311 patients who underwent tympanoplasty or facial nerve decompression from July 2002 to July 2005. The validity of using the perineural vascular plexus to locate the facial nerve was observed and assessed. Results. The perineural vascular plexus was well differentiated on the horizontal mesotympanic segment of the nerve in 95.8% of patients. The 95% confidence interval was 93.6–98.0%.

• Perineural vascular plexus
• facial nerve
• microsurgery