ePoster
Presentation Description
Institution: Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital - QLD, Australia
Facial reanimation for facial nerve injury can be broadly categorised as dynamic or static. Revision surgery is common in both groups, and failure rates of one quarter for dynamic procedures in patients undergoing oncologic resection in the head and neck are reported in the literature. Recent evidence supports using a combination of dynamic and static methods as methods of primary reanimation.
We performed a retrospective review of patients who underwent facial reanimation for oncologic resection of facial nerve between May 2013 and November 2025. Immediate reanimation was defined as a procedure performed at the time of oncologic surgery. Data analysed included all reanimation procedures at immediate and delayed time points.
We identified 140 patients with facial nerve resection. Immediate reanimation occurred in 119 patients. In this group, 68 had a static procedure, 13 had a dynamic procedure, and 38 had a combination of dynamic and static. Fifty-seven patients had delayed reanimation procedures. Most delayed procedures were static, with only 4 patients receiving a procedure with dynamic components. The median number of delayed surgeries was 1 (IQR 1-3). Immediate static reanimation patients proceeded to delayed reanimation in 29.1% of cases, compared to 46.1% of immediate dynamic reanimation patients. However, amongst 6 immediate dynamic reanimation patients who had a delayed procedure, most required a single delayed procedure with a median of 1 (IQR 1-1)) compared to 1.5 (IQR 1-3) in the static group.
Delayed reanimation procedures following oncologic resection of facial nerve were common in this single centre cohort. These findings highlight procedural burden in these patient groups, emphasising the importance of robust planning for immediate and delayed reanimation pathways.
Presenters
Authors
Authors
Dr James Ryan - , Dr Darryl Dunn -
