Microvascular Decompression for Hemifacial Spasm Using Oxidized Cellulose; Clinical Outcome and Complications

Background: Microvascular decompression (MVD) of the facial nerve has been established as one of the standard treatments for Hemifacial spasm (HFS), adequate mobilization of the offending vessel(s) away of the nerve is the key to improving the clinical outcome and preventing recurrence, different types of implant materials have been used to move the vessel away form the nerve, Teflon recently being almost the standard. Objectives: The aim of this study is to describe the use of Fibrillar (oxidized cellulose) instead of Teflon in order to mobilize the offending vessel away from the facial nerve in MVD surgery. Patients and Methods: Twenty eight patients, who underwent MVD for hemifacial spasm using fibrillar oxidized celluslose, were evaluated describing the operative finding, surgical technique, clinical outcome and recurrence rate. The median follow-up period was 3.5 years (range, 1–5 years). Results: Excellent surgical outcome was found in twenty two patients 78.6%, two patients with good outcome, one poor and one failure. Two patients 7% had postoperative recurrence one in the early postoperative and the other patient one year later. Conclusion: Using Fibrillar cellulose for mobilization of the offending vessels can be a good alternative to Teflon in MVD surgery, further studies comparing different implant materials is still needed in order to increase the success rate for MVD for hemifacial spasm.