Facial nerve injury following surgery for the treatment of ankylosis of the temporomandibular joint.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of the present paper was to carry out a longitudinal study of a series of cases in which injury of the facial nerve was observed following surgery for the treatment of temporomandibular ankylosis. STUDY DESIGN The sample was composed of 13 patients, both male and female, in whom 18 surgical approaches were made. A postoperative assessment of the motor function of the facial nerve was made in accordance with the House-Brackmann grading system. All the patients were photographed and assessed at the following postoperative times: 24 hours, one week, one month and three months. RESULTS The results showed that injury of the facial nerve occurred in 31% of the cases. An increase in the frequency of nerve injury was observed in the cases in which the interpositional arthroplasty technique was employed, as well as the fact that 75% of the patients had undergone at least one surgical intervention prior to the study. After three months all the patients displayed normal function of the facial nerve. CONCLUSION The frequency of facial nerve injury is related to the degree of difficulty involved in the surgery determined by the type of ankylosis. The nerve lesions were shown to be of a temporary nature.