Facial Nerve Identification in Children

Abstract

A surgical technique utilizing common anatomic landmarks has been developed to aid in the safe identification of the facial nerve in children. Anatomic dissections demonstrated that the facial nerve trunk can be consistently found in a triangle formed by the sternocleidomastoid muscle, posterior belly of the digastric muscle, and cartilaginous ear canal. Because of the superficial course of the facial nerve in infants and the underdevelopment of surrounding structures, the standard techniques for identification of the facial nerve trunk in adults would jeopardize the nerve in children, and an alternative technique for identifying the facial nerve has been developed.