[Measurement of facial nerve blood flow in rabbits using laser Doppler flowmetry]

To study the microcirculation disorder of the facial nerve entrapment in rabbits.

Laser Doppler Flowmetry (LDF) was used in the blood flow measurement of the horizontal segment of the facial nerve and other adjacent structures in 32 New Zealand White rabbits. The repeated test was used to evaluate the stability of LDF.

An animal model was established to study the microcirculation of the facial nerve in rabbits. The record of repeat test showed that LDF is a stable method. LDF of the horizontal segment of the facial nerve is higher in the proximal end but lower in distal. LDF in the distal part of the horizontal facial nerve (57.96 +/- 24.59) is higher than the semicircle canal(21.16 +/- 6.39), the medial wall of the attic(21.17 +/- 6.21), the tendon of the tensor tympani muscle(10.40 +/- 5.97) and other adjacent structures (P < 0.05). LDF probe may become a detector for surgeon to find the facial nerve in the complicated operation fields and prevent the iatrogenic facial paralysis. Because the press on the nerve can induce the decrease of the LDF, we estimate LDF may be very useful in the study of facial nerve entrapment.

LDF is a new, stable, objective method for microcirculation study on facial nerve, and very useful in pathophysiological investigation of peripheral facial paralysis.