Pattern of facial nerve palsy during parotidectomy: a single-center experience

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to report and analyze the prevalence of permanent facial nerve paralysis following parotidectomy for various benign and malignant lesions in a single center. METHODS: This single-center retrospective study included all patients who underwent parotidectomy (total and superficial) for benign and malignant tumors and chronic inflammatory diseases during a 6-year period. Patients who had previously undergone an operation of the parotid gland and those with preoperative facial weakness were excluded. RESULTS: The study included 127 patients ranging in age from 14 to 83 years (median, 45.89 years). Most patients were female (n = 83, 65.4%). The most prevalent procedure was superficial parotidectomy (n = 117, 92.1%), followed by total parotidectomy (n = 6, 4.7%). The average operative duration was 138 minutes (range, 80–400 minutes). Histopathology revealed that 109 (85.8%) patients had benign tumors, 14 (11.0%) had malignant tumors, and 4 (3.1%) had chronic sialadenitis. Only two patients sustained an injury to the cervical branch of the facial nerve. CONCLUSION: In this single-center experience of parotid surgery, the rates of transient and permanent facial paralysis were acceptably low at 9.0% and 1.6%, respectively, for all pathologies.