ONE-STAGE MICRONEUROVASCULAR FREE ABDUCTOR HALLUCIS MUSCLE TRANSPLANTATION FOR REANIMATION OF FACIAL PARALYSIS

We introduce a new method using abductor hallucis muscle free transpla ntation for reanimation of the cheek with long-standing facial palsy i n six young patients. The muscle is used to reanimate facial palsy bec ause it has many unique advantages: (1) appropriate size and shape of the muscle and adequate bulk, (2) closely parallel alignment and unvar ied anatomy of the main vessels and nerve distribution to the muscle, (3) a long neurovascular pedicle, (4) easy surgical isolation of the m uscle and its neurovascular pedicle, and (5) no functional deficit aft er muscle removal. The nerve and muscle grafts can be performed by mic roneurovascular anastomosis in one surgical procedure. The followup pe riod was over 1 year. A satisfactory result was obtained in five of si x patients.