A new and reliable landmark in parotid surgery: tragomastoid groove (Akil Groove).

OBJECTIVE: Parotid surgery is a frequently performed surgery in otorhinolaryngology practice with many possible complications. Due to the high ratio of facial paralysis during parotid surgery, we defined a new landmark for identifying and protecting the facial nerve as early as possible during surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was designed as a prospective anatomical method. The important details and relationship of the tragomastoid groove to the facial nerve truncus were examined during surgery on 30 patients. In addition, the demographics of the patients, the type of surgery and the pathological results of surgeries were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean distance of the tragomastoid groove to the facial nerve truncus was 20.53±1.71 mm, the mean deepness of the tragomastoid groove was 1.91±0.26 mm, and the mean superficial part of the tragomastoid groove was 0.83±0.23 mm. The tragomastoid groove was situated either across from the facial nerve at the place where the facial nerve truncus exits the stylomastoid foramen or just inferior to the truncus in all patients. CONCLUSIONS: The tragomastoid groove was defined for the first time in the literature as a reliable landmark for identifying the facial nerve truncus easily during parotid surgery.

Laryngectomy: what is the impact of the type of surgery on life quality and sexual function?

The purpose of this study is to compare total and partial larygectomy on private life functions and sexuality in patients with laryngeal cancer. The study included 31 partial laryngectomy patients (Group 1) and 51 total laryngectomy patients (Group 2) who were operated for laryngeal cancer. European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) head and neck cancer module (QLQ-H&N35) and Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) forms were filled in by interviewing face to face with patients. HNSW (swallowing), HNSE (senses), HNSP (speech), HNSO (social eating), HNSX (sexuality), HNTE (problems with teeth), HNOM (problems with opening mouth) and HNCO (coughing) scores of EORTC QLQ-H&N35 were significantly higher in group 2 than in group 1. However, according to Arizona test results, there were no significant difference between the two groups.