Traction Injury of the Facial Nerve in the Rabbit

An experimental traction injury of the facial nerve has been produced in the rabbit. The resultant palsy behaves in a manner similar to that of the temporary facial palsy seen as a complication of clinical parotid surgery. This nerve injury in the rabbit is due to the traction rather than the dissection of the nerve from its bed, but it seems likely that the mechanism of the palsy is nevertheless ischemic. There is a wide variation in the magnitude and duration of the traction insult required to produce a postoperative facial palsy.