Imaging of the Facial Nerve

Raghavan, Prashant; Mukherjee, Sugoto; Phillips, C. Douglas

doi:10.1016/j.nic.2009.06.008

Cited by 51 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…To date there are few papers about MR imaging in depicting the intra-temporal parts of the facial nerve and its extra-cranial and intra-parotid path (2,15,16). Detailed MRI anatomical studies, however, would provide the surgeon with the exact knowledge of the course of these nerves and the relationships with local anatomical landmarks and any existing variants allowing surgical planning to be designed safely and thus avoiding possible nerve injuries.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High resolution 3-T MR imaging in the evaluation of the facial nerve course

Cassetta¹,

Barchetti

et al. 2014

gchir

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The facial nerve (seventh cranial nerve) is a complex nerve with motor, sensory, and parasympathetic fibers. The motor division is dominant, accounting for approximately 70% of the total axons, with the remainder composed by the sensory division and the nervus intermedius (nerve of Wrisberg). The motor division supplies somatic motor fibers to the muscles of the face, scalp, and auricle, the buccinator and platysma, the stapedius, the stylohyoideus, and the posterior belly of the digastric; it also contains some sympathetic motor fibers, which constitute the vasodilator nerves of the submandibular and sublingual glands and are conveyed through the chorda tympani nerve (1, 2).Imaging plays an important role in the evaluation of the complex anatomy of the facial nerve because the nerve may be affected by a wide variety of primary pathologic processes and may also be secondarily involved in several congenital, inflammatory, traumatic and neoplastic disorders of the temporal bone and parotid gland.Moreover the evaluation of the facial nerve course and his anatomical relationships with surrounding structures is very important for prevent possible injuries which may occur during surgery.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide highly detailed anatomical information with excellent discrimination of the soft tissues, avoiding patient's exposure to X-rays (3). In the previous studies the limited use of MRI was due to the longer examination time and the lower resolution compared with computed tomography. In fact the insufficient spatial resolution of the widespread Objectives. To assess the value of 3-Tesla (3-T) MR imaging (MRI) in the evaluation of the course of the intracranial and extra-cranial tracts of the facial nerve. Patients and methods. 83 patients were studied by MRI in order to detect the course of facial nerve; a total of 166 facial nerves were examined. T2-weighted 3D Fast imaging employing steady-state acquisition (FIESTA) and T1-weighted Fast spoiled gradient recalled echo (fast SPRG) sequences were used. Two radiologists (reader A and B), independently, evaluated the course of the tracts of the facial nerve accordingto a qualitative scale (excellent, good, fair, poor

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High resolution 3-T MR imaging in the evaluation of the facial nerve course

Cassetta¹,

Barchetti

et al. 2014

gchir

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We found no trials comparing various imaging techniques for progressive facial nerve dysfunction, but each technique has its own merits. 32 MRI may be better suited to evaluating the brain stem, cerebellopontine angle, interfaces between bone and soft tissues, and the parotid gland, whereas high-resolution CT may be more widely available and better suited for studying the intratemporal segment of the nerve. …”

Section: We Recommend Imaging To Rule Out Neoplasms or Alternative DImentioning

confidence: 99%

Management of Bell palsy: clinical practice guideline

Almeida

Guyatt

Sud

et al. 2014

CMAJ

129

108

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“…On the other hand, vascular pathologies of the cisternal and intracanalicular segments of the facial nerve, such as vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia, vertebrobasilar and PICA or AICA aneurysms and loops are considered in the etiology of facial nerve palsy. [13,14] Given that multiple vascular contacts were found to be more common on the affected sides in facial palsy cases versus the unaffected sides and controls in our study, we propose that these vascular contacts, though unlikely to be the main predisposing factor in the development of BP, may nevertheless contribute to the risk. The underlying mechanism may be similar to that in NVCS.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…While MRI, particularly obtained after intravenous administration of gadoliniumchelate, was considered to be of limited value in some studies, others reported that facial nerve enhancement on MRI is valuable in the diagnosis and is associated with a poor prognosis. [13,[15][16][17] Furthermore, clinicians are discouraged from routinely performing diagnostic imaging for patients with new onset Bell's palsy. [1] On the other hand, 3D-FIES-TA MRI provides much higher spatial resolution than rou-…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%