Facial nerve hemangiomas at geniculate ganglion: preservation of nerve integrity is correlated with duration of facial palsy.

OBJECTIVE

To study preservation of nerve integrity in 16 cases with facial nerve hemangiomas at geniculate ganglion (GG).

METHODS

16 cases with facial nerve hemangiomas at GG, who presented with facial palsy, were included in the study. Preservation of nerve integrity was attempted by the same surgeon during surgical removal, and those who failed to preserve nerve integrity underwent nerve grafting. The patients were divided into longer duration group (>12months) and shorter duration group (≤12months) according to duration of facial palsy, and preservation of nerve integrity in the couple of groups was compared.

RESULTS

Nerve integrity was preserved in 2 of 10 cases (20%) among longer duration group, while it was preserved in 5 of 6 cases (83.3%) among shorter duration group (p<0.05). All the cases with nerve integrity preserved recovered to grade III or better, among which 3 cases recovered to grade I or grade II, while only 3 of 9 cases (33.3%) with nerve grafting recovered to grade III at the best.

CONCLUSIONS

Preservation of nerve integrity was correlated with duration of facial palsy in cases with hemangiomas at GG. Patients with nerve integrity preserved showed better outcomes of facial nerve.