Short-Facelift Approach in Temporal Artery Biopsy: Is It Safe?

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a quite common panarteritis of the elderly that affects medium- and large-size arteries. Despite the increasing role of imaging with advancing technology, the gold standard for the diagnosis of GCA is still the temporal artery biopsy. A described complication of superfi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Applied sciences Vol. 11; no. 22; p. 10739
Main Authors:	Faenza, Mario, Piccolo, Giuseppina, Funaro, Mariano, Grella, Roberto, Pantano, Ilenia, Ciccia, Francesco
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Basel MDPI AG 01-11-2021
Subjects:	Arteries Arteritis Biopsy Carotid arteries Complications Conflicts of interest Facial nerve giant cell arteritis minimally invasive procedure new tools in diagnosis Postoperative Scars temporal artery biopsy Vein & artery diseases
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Summary:	Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a quite common panarteritis of the elderly that affects medium- and large-size arteries. Despite the increasing role of imaging with advancing technology, the gold standard for the diagnosis of GCA is still the temporal artery biopsy. A described complication of superficial temporal artery biopsy (STAB), for which incidence is not clear, is the accidental damage of the frontal branch of the facial nerve. In this paper, we described the short-scar facelift surgical approach for STAB on 23 consecutive patients who underwent unilateral superficial temporal artery biopsy for GCA suspicion. We collected data in terms of postoperative complications, biopsy specimen length, biopsy result and cosmetic appearance of the scar. In our experience, this surgical approach combines the advantage of avoiding incisions within the dangerous anatomical area, minimizing the risk of facial nerve damage, with an acceptable complication rate and a good final aesthetic result which avoids visible scarring.
ISSN:	2076-3417 2076-3417
DOI:	10.3390/app112210739