Uses in Nerve Repair
Facial nerve paralysis is a difficult situation to fix, but new cranial nerve substitution techniques allow for some usage to be restored, to include hypoglossal-facial anastomosis.
This procedure is considered the standard for reanimating the face when the proximal end of the facial nerve is not available, but the peripheral system is still viable. There are two options:
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- Hypoglossal nerve completely transected and connected to facial nerve.
- Hypoglossal nerve partially transected and connected to facial nerve. This may be accomplished with interposition cable grafts or jump grafts. An advantage of partial transection is minimizing tongue weakness and purported decrease in synkinesis. There are disadvantages though since there are then fewer nerve cells to drive the movement of features in the face.
Read more about this topic: Hypoglossal Nerve
Famous quotes containing the words nerve and/or repair:
“There must be some nerve and heroism in our love, as of a winter morning.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It is not only a question of who is responsible for very young children. There is no longer anyone home to care for adolescents and the elderly. There is no one around to take in the car for repair or to let the plumber in. Working families are faced with daily dilemmas: Who will take care of a sick child? Who will go to the big soccer game? Who will attend the teacher conference?”
—Fran Sussner Rodgers (20th century)