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Randomized Prospective Study of the Validity of the Great Auricular Nerve Preservation in Parotidectomy
Mauro Becker Martins Vieira, MD;
Amélio Ferreira Maia, MD;
Jaime Carlos Ribeiro, MD
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2002;128:1191-1195.
Objective To evaluate the feasibility and validity of great auricular nerve preservation
during parotidectomy.
Methods Thirty patients with parotid tumors were randomized to 2 groups. Sixteen
patients (group A) underwent classic parotidectomy with sacrifice of the great
auricular nerve. The surgeon tried to spare the nerve in the 14 patients (group
B). Tactile sensitivity, pain sensitivity, and tactile discrimination were
evaluated preoperatively and at 7 days, 30 days, 6 months, and 12 months after
surgery. The regions examined were the superior helix, lobule, and infra-auricular
and posterior auricular regions.
Results After surgery, both groups showed lower levels of sensitivity, mainly
in the lobule and in the infra-auricular region. These alterations were less
pronounced in group B. Both groups showed improvement over time. In group
B the tactile sensitivity reached preoperative levels by 6 months after surgery.
The recuperation in group A was partial and stabilized at 6 months after surgery.
Conclusion Great auricular nerve preservation is technically feasible during parotidectomy,
with a decrease of the sensitivity alterations in the early postoperative
period and avoidance of the permanent sequelae that occur when the nerve is
sacrificed.
From the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery,
Hospital Felício Rocho, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
Great auricular nerve morbidity after nerve sacrifice during parotidectomy.
Ryan and Fee
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2006;132:642-649.
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The otic ganglion in rats and its parotid connection: cholinergic pathways, reflex secretion and a secretory role for the facial nerve
Khosravani et al.
Exp Physiol 2006;91:239-247.
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