Facial Reanimation After Intratemporal Facial Nerve Schwannoma Resection: A Systematic Review.

Objective

To systematically analyze the outcomes of reanimation techniques that have been described for patients undergoing non-fascicle sparing resection of intratemporal facial schwannomas.

Methods

A systematic review was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines of the PubMed, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases.

Results

Eight hundred forty studies were screened with 22 meeting inclusion criteria comprising 266 patients. Most facial nerve reanimations (81.2%) were performed using an interposition nerve graft. The remaining patients underwent hypoglossal-facial nerve transposition (13.9%), primary anastomosis (3.4%), and free muscle transfer (0.1%). Of the reported interposition grafts, the two most utilized were the great auricular (113/199) and sural (86/199) nerves. Interposition nerve grafts resulted in significantly better outcomes in facial nerve function postoperatively than hypoglossal-facial transposition (3.48 vs. 3.92; p < 0.01). There was no difference between interposition grafts.

Conclusion

This study systematically reports that interposition nerve grafts, after resection of intratemporal facial schwannoma, result in superior outcomes than hypoglossal-facial nerve transposition in these patients.