Objective: To analyze the benefits of facial nerve electromyographic monitoring during parotid tumor surgery.
Methods: In the study, 92 patients with parotid tumor who underwent surgery were surveyed. The study group consisted of 46 patients who underwent intraoperative electromyographic monitoring, and 46 patients served as the control group. The incidence of postoperative facial nerve weakness and the operation time were recorded.
Results: In the primary parotid tumor resection,the operation time of the study group (6 cases)was (50.0 ± 9.1) min, that of control group (7 cases) was (42.9 ± 5.2) min (P = 0.064) when the facial nerve needed no dissecting; the operation time of the study group (32 cases)was (74.7 ± 28.0) min, that of control group (33 cases) was (75.6 ± 29.8) min (P = 0.893) when the facial nerve needed dissecting. For the patients with revision surgery, the mean operation time in the study group [(117.5 ± 37.8) min] was significantly lower than that of the control group [(175.0 ± 47.8) min], P < 0.05. In the study group, 8 patients suffered from postoperative facial nerve weakness because of tumor characteristics; in the control group, 6 patients suffered from postoperative facial nerve weakness, with 4 cases because of tumor characteristic, and 2 cases because of operator error.
Conclusion: The results suggest that continuous electromyographic monitoring of facial nerve during parotidectomy reduces the mean operation time in patients with revision surgery, but not the incidence of postoperative facial paralysis.