The Facial Artery-The Main Blood Vessel for the Anterior Face?

BACKGROUND

The facial artery is said to be the main vessel for the blood supply of the anterior face. However, its course is quite often not as described in the textbooks.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to find out the different courses of the facial artery, its anastomoses, and its position in relation to the fat compartments of the face.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

With 60 hemifaces three-dimensional reconstructions with computed tomography, cross dissections and horizontal sections were performed.

RESULTS

Of note, 4 types of facial arteries were identified. Not even half of the specimens showed a textbook course of the facial artery and only a quarter of the specimens had a textbook course of the artery on both sides.

CONCLUSION

To know the different appearances of the facial artery can be helpful for filler injection in aesthetic medicine but also for planning flaps in reconstructive surgery.