"Muscle foreshortening after free gracilis transfer for smile: Where, when, why?"

Gracilis free muscle transfer (GFMT) remains the standard for smile restoration in patients with long-standing facial palsy. Resting oral commissure lateralization (ROCL) following GFMT is aesthetically unappealing and can cause functional problems including dysarthria and oral incompetence. The ris...

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Veröffentlicht in:Plastic and reconstructive surgery (1963) 2024-08
Hauptverfasser: Yver, Christina M, McGonagle, Elizabeth R, Hadlock, Tessa A
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Gracilis free muscle transfer (GFMT) remains the standard for smile restoration in patients with long-standing facial palsy. Resting oral commissure lateralization (ROCL) following GFMT is aesthetically unappealing and can cause functional problems including dysarthria and oral incompetence. The risk factors for ROCL following GFMT are poorly understood. Of all patients who underwent GFMT for smile restoration from 2003 - 2021, patients with subsequent ROCL were identified from a facial nerve database using pre-determined search criteria. Medical records were reviewed to identify potential risk factors for muscle foreshortening. Of 412 patients who underwent successful GFMT since 2003, we identified 41 (10%) patients who subsequently developed ROCL. ROCL rates varied significantly based on gracilis innervation source, with ipsilateral CN VII innervation and dual-innervation (cross-facial nerve graft (CFNG) plus ipsilateral nerve-to-masseter (NTM)) demonstrating the highest foreshortening rates (27.3% and 15.4%, respectively), compared to the lowest rates of foreshortening when gracilis was innervated by CNFG alone (3.2%), p=0.005. Patients with a history of radiation to the surgical field were significantly more likely to develop ROCL (22%) compared to those without a history of radiation (8.6%), p
ISSN:0032-1052
1529-4242
1529-4242
DOI:10.1097/PRS.0000000000011713