Masseteric Atrophy Following Masseteric Nerve Transfer: Radiographic Findings of Asymmetry in the Paralyzed Face?

To characterize the effect of facial reanimation using masseteric nerve transfer on the masseter muscle itself, examining whether there is any demonstrable atrophy postoperatively.

Electronic medical records of adult patients who underwent facial reanimation using masseteric nerve transfer at our institution over a 15-year period were reviewed. To account for the impact of postoperative radiation, randomly selected patients who underwent radical parotidectomy without nerve transfer and received postoperative radiation served as controls in a 1:1 fashion against those who underwent masseteric nerve transfer with postoperative radiation.

Twenty patients were identified who underwent masseteric nerve transfer and had sufficient pre- and postoperative imaging to assess masseter volume (mean age 58.2, 60% female). Of the four patients who did not receive postoperative radiation, each demonstrated masseteric atrophy on the side of their nerve transfer, with a mean reduction in masseter volume of 20.6%. The remaining 16 patients were included in the case-control analysis accounting for radiation. When compared with controls, those in the study group were found to have a statistically significant difference in atrophy (p = 0.0047) and total volume loss (p = 0.0002). The overall reduction in masseter volume in the study group was significantly higher compared with the control group, at 41.7% and 16.6%, respectively (p = 0.0001).

Facial reanimation utilizing masseteric nerve transfer appears to result in atrophy of the denervated masseter when compared with the contralateral muscle. This volume deficit may lead to further facial asymmetry for patients undergoing comprehensive reanimation surgery.

3 Laryngoscope, 134:4514-4520, 2024.