[Surgery of injuries of the facial nerve on the lateral region of the face (author's transl)].

Injuries of the lateral facial region frequently cause a partial or complete destruction of the trunk or individual branches of the facial nerve. Operative methods are presented, which have proved to be especially successful for reconstruction of the facial nerve. For a successful outcome of the nerve suture together with a good functional result later on, an exact suture tehcnique is mandatory. The procedure is discussed. On the other hand, the indication for operation raises a number of problems, which mainly concern the extent of nerve injury and the period elapsed after the damage.