Facial Nerve Stimulation Through Stensen's Duct

Abstract

We report on a new method of stimulating the facial nerve through Stensen's duct. Electrical resistance of the skin and subcutaneous tissue is one of the major problems of neurophysi-ological facial nerve testing. To overcome this disadvantage, the authors show that the facial nerve can be stimulated with far less current through Stensen's duct. The NET, ENoG, and antidromic facial nerve responses are recordable at less than a third of the current required for conventional percutaneous stimulation. It is our belief that nerve stimulation through Stensen's duct will be a new and useful method for assessing facial nerve dysfunction in the early stage of palsy.

Key Words:

• neurophysiologkal test
• facial palsy
• antidromic response, nerve excitability test (NET)
• electroneuronography (ENoG)