Tympanic Neurectomy and Chorda Tympanectomy for the Control of Drooling

Seventeen patients suffered from drooling that either occurred as a sequelae of extensive head and neck cancer resections or was due to neurological disorders. In these patients, a tympanic neurectomy and/or chorda tympanectomy was performed in an attempt to eliminate the drooling. The conditions in five of 12 (41%) patients with head and neck cancer were improved following such surgery. Two of four children with cerebral palsy initially had a good result. However, the long-term follow-up of the patients demonstrated that the drooling recurred. An additional patient suffering from bulbar weakness and drooling owing to a cerebrovascular accident had less problems with salivary secretions. The results were relatively disappointing; there are several possible explanations for this.