Trigeminal neurotization of paralyzed facial musculature. Modification of the Lexer-Rosenthal surgical procedure.

We introduce a modification of the Lexer-Rosenthal surgical technique for reinnervation of the facial muscles by trigeminal neurolization in patients with facial paralysis. Four patients with such paralysis were seen in the Cranial Nerve Research Clinic, Oakland, Calif. Three of the four patients had their paralysis surgically treated, and recovery of facial motion was compared with that in one patient, in whom spontaneous trigeminal neurotization occurred. Those patients whose facial paralysis was surgically treated had fair to excellent results, and the technique is considered superior to alternative hypoglossal or spinal accessory anastomosis.