A study of anatomical Relationship of posterior Auricular artery with facial Nerve trunk: a cadaveric study

Abstract

Background: Despite good surgical knowledge of the anatomy of Parotid gland and meticulous surgical technique, the incidence of facial palsy in parotid surgeries is up to 26.7% transient and 1.7% complete facial palsy. Although several surgical landmarks to identify the facial nerve have been described in literature, their position is variable, inconsistent, and difficult to follow in some cases. Objectives: To study the relation between posterior auricular artery and facial nerve trunk and to determine the validity of using posterior auricular artery as a marker to identify facial nerve during parotid surgeries.