[Lengthening temporalis myoplasty for facial palsy reanimation after parotid surgery].

AIM OF THE STUDY

Share our experience and our results of lengthening temporalis myoplasty (LTM) for facial palsy reanimation after parotid surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study of 15 patients after they had had a lengthening temporalis myoplasty, in the same time or after a non conservative parotidectomy of facial nerve. 10 patients suffered from a parotid malignant tumor, one had a jugal epidermoid skin carcinoma invading the parotid, 2 patients had a facial palsy after removal of pleomorphic adenoma recurrence and two patients had a facial nerve schwannoma. 8 patients had a LTM surgery in the same time of the parotid tumoral removal.

RESULTS

No recurrence was observed on the 11 patients who had a carcinoma (average follow up: 27 months). The LTM surgery enabled us to obtain good results at rest for 14 patients (93%) and an intermediate result for one person. The ability to smile was described as good for 10 patients (66.6%), intermediate for 4 of them (26.6%) and unsatisfying for 1 person (6,6%). In the group rehabilitation, the results observed are similar, for the patients who had one or two surgical steps. In 3 cases, we noticed an infectious complication, which led us to operate again. In the 8 cases within lengthening was performed in the same time as parotidectomy, there was no additionnal surgical difficulty.

CONCLUSION

LTM surgery is an efficient method of rehabilitation. If possible, it should be performed in the same time as tumor removal. As the operational places are different, tumor checking-up and observation are not disturbed by this kind of rehabilitation.