A comprehensive review of the great auricular nerve graft

Cassidy Werner¹, Anthony V D'Antoni^{2

3}, Joe Iwanaga^{4

5

6}, Koichi Watanabe⁷, Aaron S Dumont¹, R Shane Tubbs^{1

8

9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, 131 S. Robertson St. Suite 1300, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA.
² Physician Assistant Program, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY, USA.
³ Division of Anatomy, Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurosurgery, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, 131 S. Robertson St. Suite 1300, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA. iwanagajoeca@gmail.com.
⁵ Division of Gross and Clinical Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. iwanagajoeca@gmail.com.
⁶ Department of Neurology, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA. iwanagajoeca@gmail.com.
⁷ Division of Gross and Clinical Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁸ Department of Neurology, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
⁹ Department of Structural & Cellular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Neurosurgery and Ochsner Neuroscience Institute, Ochsner Health System, New Orleans, LA, USA.
¹¹ Department of Anatomical Sciences, St. George's University, St. George's, Grenada.

PMID: 33083927
DOI: 10.1007/s10143-020-01426-9

Review

A comprehensive review of the great auricular nerve graft

Cassidy Werner et al. Neurosurg Rev. 2021 Aug.

. 2021 Aug;44(4):1987-1995.

doi: 10.1007/s10143-020-01426-9. Epub 2020 Oct 20.

Authors

Cassidy Werner¹, Anthony V D'Antoni^{2

3}, Joe Iwanaga^{4

5

6}, Koichi Watanabe⁷, Aaron S Dumont¹, R Shane Tubbs^{1

8

9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, 131 S. Robertson St. Suite 1300, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA.
² Physician Assistant Program, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY, USA.
³ Division of Anatomy, Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurosurgery, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, 131 S. Robertson St. Suite 1300, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA. iwanagajoeca@gmail.com.
⁵ Division of Gross and Clinical Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. iwanagajoeca@gmail.com.
⁶ Department of Neurology, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA. iwanagajoeca@gmail.com.
⁷ Division of Gross and Clinical Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁸ Department of Neurology, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
⁹ Department of Structural & Cellular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Neurosurgery and Ochsner Neuroscience Institute, Ochsner Health System, New Orleans, LA, USA.
¹¹ Department of Anatomical Sciences, St. George's University, St. George's, Grenada.

PMID: 33083927
DOI: 10.1007/s10143-020-01426-9

Abstract

The great auricular nerve (GAN) is a superficial branch of the cervical plexus that innervates parts of the mandible, auricle, and earlobe. Over the past 30 years, the GAN has become the nerve graft donor of choice for many surgeons for reconstructing injured facial nerves. In this review, we discuss the anatomy and function of the GAN, while focusing on surgical landmarks and the characteristics that make it a suitable nerve graft donor. In addition, we present and summarize published case reports on use of the GAN for grafting. We hope that this review will provide surgeons with an up-to-date and concise reference.

Keywords: Anatomy; Donor; Great auricular nerve; Internal jugular vein; Nerve graft; Recipient; Sternocleidomastoid muscle.

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A comprehensive review of the great auricular nerve graft

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A comprehensive review of the great auricular nerve graft

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