Objective: To determine the surgical location of marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve in vivo.
Design: Prospective in vivo study.
Setting: Tertiary referral teaching center.
Patients: Marginal mandibular nerves were examined in 52 consecutive patients undergoing neck or salivary gland procedures.
Interventions: All the nerves were identified anatomically and through electrical stimulation. Two measurements were then recorded: (1) the distance from the nerve to the inferior edge of the angle of the mandible and (2) the distance from the lowest point of the nerve to the inferior edge of the mandible.