Aberrant temporal branch of facial nerve

Tun Wildan; Nasser Nasser

doi:10.1016/j.bjoms.2016.03.018

Aberrant temporal branch of facial nerve

Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2016 Dec;54(10):e61-e63. doi: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2016.03.018. Epub 2016 Apr 8.

Authors

Tun Wildan¹, Nasser Nasser²

Affiliations

¹ Senior Clinical Fellow, Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow, HA1 3UJ. Electronic address: drtwildan@gmail.com.
² Consultant, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, Whipps Cross University Hospital, Whipps Cross Road, London, E11 1NR, England.

PMID: 27068852
DOI: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2016.03.018

Abstract

There is a high risk of injury to the temporal branch of the facial nerve during operations on the head and neck because of the complexity of its course. We report an aberrant branch that arose from the main trunk before bifurcation into the temporofacial and cervicofacial divisions. It had no anastomosis with other branches, and damage could have caused uncompensated injury.

Keywords: Aberrant anatomy; Parotidectomy; Temporal branch of facial nerve.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Facial Nerve / abnormalities*
Humans