Comparison of Direct Side-to-End and End-to-End Hypoglossal-Facial Anastomosis for Facial Nerve Repair.

Background: The hypoglossal facial anastomosis (HFA) is the gold standard for facial reanimation in patients with severe facial nerve palsy. The major drawbacks of the classic HFA technique are lingual morbidities due to hypoglossal nerve transection. The side-to-end HFA is a modification of the classic technique with fewer tongue-related morbidities.