Table 1.
Subject characteristics and facial nerve functional outcomes
| No. (%) | Total patients (n = 794) |
Facial weakness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temporarya (n = 73, 9.2%) |
Permanentb (n = 41, 5.2%) |
||
| Gender | |||
| Male | 392 (49.4%) | 32 (8.2%) | 16 (4.1%) |
| Female | 402 (50.6%) | 41 (10.2%) | 25 (6.2%) |
| Age (years, mean, range) | 48.9 [11–90] | 52.4 [18–83] | 54.4 [25–83] |
| Pathology (Supplementary Table S1) | |||
| Benign tumors | 651 (82.0%) | 42 (6.5%) | 22 (3.4%) |
| Malignant tumorsc | 143 (18.0%) | 31 (21.7%) | 19 (14.4%) |
| Tumor size (longest diameter, cm, mean, range) | 2.6 [0.4–9.5] | 3.0 [0.7–7.0] | 3.1 [1.0–7.0] |
| Number of tumors | |||
| Single | 759 (95.6%) | 67 (8.8%) | 37 (4.9%) |
| Multiple (≥ 2) | 35 (4.4%) | 6 (17.1%) | 4 (11.4%) |
| Tumor subsite | |||
| Superficial to the facial nerve | 667 (84.0%) | 44 (6.6%) | 26 (3.9%) |
| Deep to the facial nerve | 70 (8.8%) | 12 (17.1%) | 4 (5.7%) |
| Superficial and deep location (both) | 57 (7.2%) | 17 (29.8%) | 11 (19.3%) |
| Extent of surgery | |||
| Extracapsular dissection of tumors | 78 (9.8%) | 2 (2.6%) | 1 (1.3%) |
| Partial parotidectomy | 441 (55.5%) | 29 (6.6%) | 12 (2.7%) |
| Superficial parotidectomy | 187 (23.6%) | 13 (7.0%) | 10 (5.3%) |
| Total parotidectomy | 88 (11.1%) | 29 (33.0%) | 18 (20.5%) |
| Types of surgery | |||
| Primary parotidectomy | 753 (94.8%) | 62 (8.2%) | 33 (4.4%) |
| Revision parotidectomy (Recurrent tumors) | 41 (5.2%) | 11 (26.8%) | 8 (19.5%) |
aTemporary facial weakness: Status of facial expression at postoperative day 1 to 5
bPermanent facial weakness: Status of facial expression at more than 6 months postoperatively
cMalignant tumors: facial nerve sacrifices in 21 cases with malignant tumors, even with intact facial nerve function pre-operatively