Evaluation of the Clinical Effects of Intraoperative Facial Nerve Repair and Reconstruction for Parotid Malignant Tumors.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate facial nerve reconstruction's impact on quality of life (QoL) and clinical outcomes in radical parotid malignancy surgery.

METHODS

Patients were stratified into the Preservation Group, Reconstruction Group, and Disconnection Group, retrospectively analyzed objective measures (from medical records and operative reports) and subjective measures (using the Sunnybrook Facial Grading System [SFGS] and Facial Clinimetric Evaluation [FaCE] scale) across the three patient groups.

RESULTS

No significant differences in recurrence or mortality were observed between Reconstruction and Disconnection groups (p > 0.05). Facial nerve reconstruction significantly improves outcomes in patients with high-risk parotid malignancies (p < 0.05), despite higher-risk profiles in the reconstruction cohort. This improvement remained stable over time, showing no significant decline (p > 0.05). Venous nerve conduit trap yielded superior facial nerve function and QoL versus end-to-end repair (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Facial nerve reconstruction effectively improves outcomes in parotid malignancy surgery. Venous nerve conduit trap application is better than end-to-end repair.