Published in:
01-11-2013 | Original Paper
Endoscopic access to fascia lata for use in static facial reanimation—a cadaveric and clinical study
Published in: European Journal of Plastic Surgery | Issue 11/2013
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Background
Current methods of autogenous fascia lata harvest for the static surgical treatment of longstanding facial paralysis often result in a high level of donor site morbidity and unsightly visual scarring on the patient’s lateral thigh due to the open technique traditionally used. With endoscopic access already being widely used in other areas of plastic and reconstructive surgery, it was hypothesised that it would be feasible to retrieve sufficient amounts of fascia lata endoscopically to achieve satisfactory static facial reanimation.
Methods
In the first instance, we used an 85-year-old female cadaver selected from the regular stock at the University of Glasgow to establish if retrieval of fascia lata endoscopically was feasible. Through two small incisions on the lateral aspect of the thigh (proximally and distally), we successfully retrieved a strip of fascia lata measuring 9 × 2.5 cm. Due to the ease of access, one of the authors then performed endoscopic retrieval of the fascia lata for five patients requiring static facial reanimation.
Results
It was shown that in all cases it was feasible to retrieve sufficient amounts of fascia lata to perform static facial reanimation with a similar operating time compared to the open technique which is currently used. In addition, there were no complications related to donor site morbidity.
Conclusions
We have shown that endoscopic access to the fascia lata for use in static facial reanimation is perfectly feasible, with no complications, minimal scarring and no significant increase in operating time compared to the traditional open technique currently used.
Level of Evidence: Level V, therapeutic study.