Repair of temporal branch of the facial nerve with novel polyglycolic acid-collagen tube: a case report of two cases.

Autologous nerve transplantation has been the gold standard in the treatment of facial nerve injury, however it has not been achieved satisfactory result and needs donor sacrifice. A polyglycolic acid collagen conduit (Nerbridge, Toyobo Co., Japan) has the potential to compare to or exceed autologous nerve grafts in promoting nerve regeneration. Here we report two cases of traumatic temporal facial nerve injury repairs with Nerbridge. The severed temporal branch of the facial nerve was repaired with Nerbridge conduits in two patients. Recovery of movement was assessed by clinical photography and needle electromyography. The frontal muscle started moving five months postoperatively in both cases. Electromyography at twelve months showed polymorphic electric discharge, suggesting connection of the injured nerve to the frontal muscle. In the final results, each patient had good eyebrow elevation distance and moderate forward gaze recovery in comparison to their healthy sides. Considering that facial nerves are reported to recover incompletely even in autologous nerve graft repair cases, our two cases showed reasonable recovery comparable to nerve autografting. The Nerbridge conduit is a promising alternative to standard treatments for facial nerve recovery.