Protection of Horizontal Segment of Facial Nerve in Surgeries for Chronic Otitis Media
YU Qiaolian
TIAN Guangyong
Abstract：Objective To study issues related to protecting the horizontal segment of facial nerve in patients with chronic otitis media during operation, in order to avoid the occurrence of facial paralysis after operation. Methods Between 2012 January and 2013 December, a total of 50 ears in 46 patients were operated upon for chronic otitis media and included in the study. All the patients underwent temporal bone CT scan with three-dimensional reconstruction. Operations included exploratory tympanotomy, tympanoplasty, modified radical mastoidectomy and hearing reconstruction procedures. The proba-bility of facial nerve exposure was assessed preoperatively and combined with intraoperative findings in the discussion over protection of the horizontal segment of facial nerve. Results Intraoperative findings showed exposure of the horizontal seg-ment of facial nerve in 13 cases, and the mastoid segment in 2 cases. Postoperative transient paralysis occurred in 1 case, and 8 patients reported short-term dizziness. There was no permanent facial paralysis after operation. Conclusions In the opera-tion for chronic otitis media, the rate of exposure of horizontal segment of the facial nerve is higher than other segments. Un-derstanding of the essentials of the operations can effectively protect the facial nerve and avoid facial nerve paralysis.
Keywords：Chronic otitis mediaFfacial nerveClinical anatomy
Publication Date：2014-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：3( 423-425 )