The importance of individualized and multiple landmarks for the identification of facial nerve trunk: a narrative review

Pang, KangMi; Kuk, Su Kyung; Choi, Eunhye

doi:2024.62.6.380

J Korean Dent Assoc > Volume 62(6); 2024 > Article

Review Article

The Journal of The Korean Dental Association 2024;62(6):380-388.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22974/jkda.2024.62.6.002 Published online June 28, 2024.

The importance of individualized and multiple landmarks for the identification of facial nerve trunk: a narrative review

KangMi Pang¹

, Su Kyung Kuk²

, Eunhye Choi³

¹Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University
²Division of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, Seoul National University
³Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry and Dental Research, Seoul National University

Correspondence: KangMi Pang
Email: pkm81@snu.ac.kr

Received: 4 March 2024 • Revised: 6 March 2024 • Accepted: 29 March 2024

Abstract

The identification of the facial nerve trunk(FNT) is an important step in surgical procedures involving the parotid gland and adjacent structures to minimize the risk of inadvertent nerve damage which leads to facial muscle paralysis. Despite the availability of various anatomic landmarks such as the tragal pointer, posterior belly of digastric muscle, tympanomastoid suture, digastric branch of facial nerve and styloid process, no single landmark is perfect, with variations observed between individuals. Therefore, a comprehensive knowledge of facial nerve anatomy is essential for FNT identification. In this review, we tried to introduce clinically meaningful methods for the localization of facial nerve trunk. The preference of landmark could be changed by the major of the surgeon or the location of the tumor of the patients. Understanding the characteristics and drawbacks of the landmarks and choosing multiple landmarks that were convenient for surgeon would be necessary.

Key Words: facial nerve, anatomic landmarks, parotid region, anatomy regional