ArticleEuropean archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery2026
Optimizing facial reanimation: surgical landmarks for masseteric-to-facial nerve anastomosis.
Article in European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThis study aimed primarily to establish a precise surgical anatomical guide for masseteric-to-facial nerve (MN-FN) anastomosis using reproducible anatomical landmarks. The secondary objective was to identify novel and reliable landmarks to facilitate the localization and dissection of the masseteric nerve (MN) during facial reanimation procedures.
methodsA cadaveric study was performed on 22 hemifaces from 11 formalin-fixed cadavers. Standardized preauricular and temporal scalp incisions were used to expose the facial nerve (FN) and identify the MN. Distances from the tragus, zygomatic arch, and relevant bony landmarks to the MN were measured. Angles and depths were recorded bilaterally. Statistical analyses included Wilcoxon signed-rank test (p < 0.05).
resultsFor the primary objective, the MN was consistently located deep to the zygomatic arch, at a mean distance of 2.6 ± 0.4 cm anterior to the tragus and a mean depth of 1.2 ± 0.3 cm. The trajectory formed an average angle of 52.1 ± 6.2° with the zygomatic arch. These parameters were symmetrical bilaterally (p > 0.05), confirming their reproducibility. For the secondary objective, we identified a new "subzygomatic triangle" bordered by the zygomatic arch, posterior masseter border, and condylar neck. The MN was reliably found within this triangle in all specimens (12/12, 100%), with significantly reduced depth variability compared to standard techniques (p = 0.018).
conclusionThis study defines reproducible anatomical references and introduces a novel landmark to enhance the safety and precision of MN-FN anastomosis in facial reanimation surgery.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41276660What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.