Spontaneity Assessment in Dually Innervated Gracilis Smile Reanimation Surgery

What Is This Study About?

This study evaluated whether using two nerve sources (dual innervation) for gracilis muscle transfer produces more spontaneous-looking smiles than single nerve innervation. The cross-face nerve component contributes emotional spontaneity while the masseteric nerve provides reliable excursion.

Key Findings

• Dual innervation (masseter + cross-face nerve) achieves both power and spontaneity
• Patients with dual innervation showed more emotionally-driven spontaneous smiling
• The cross-face nerve component contributes to emotional spontaneity

What This Means for Patients

Patients who receive dual-innervated smile reanimation may achieve smiles that are not only strong but also naturally triggered by emotion, more closely resembling normal facial expression.