Anatomical study of the supraorbital and supratrochlear nerve from the endoscopic perspective

Abstract

Background: Endoscopic decompression of the supraorbital (SO) and supratrochlear (ST) nerves represents a primary surgical approach for the treatment of frontal migraine. To the best of our knowledge, no anatomical studies have been conducted on these nerves from an endoscopic perspective. Method: The ST and SO nerves were endoscopically observed in six cadavers (12 sides). Furthermore, data with significant implications for clinical surgery were measured and subjected to rigorous statistical analysis. Result: The branches of the SO and ST were sequentially designated as the first, second, third, and fourth branches in an outside-in order. The probability of the SO nerve bifurcating into three branches at the SO margin was 75 %. The third branch of the SO nerve perforated the corrugator supercilii muscle (CSM) in 75 % of the cases. In 92 % of the cases, the first branch of the SO nerve was found to accompany the ST artery. The ST nerve typically presents a solitary branch at the SO margin. Moreover, all branches of the ST nerve traverse through the muscles. The presence of the ST artery consistently accompanies the ST nerve in all specimens. Conclusions: The nomenclature of the SO nerve and ST nerve in this paper is based on a neuroendoscopic perspective. From an endoscopic perspective, the SO nerve commonly exhibits three branches, with the first and second branches typically accompanying the artery, while the third branch usually traverses through the muscle; ST nerve commonly exhibits a branch that is often accompanied by an artery and commonly passes through the muscles.

Keywords

• Supraorbital nerves
• Supratrochlear nerves
• Neuroendoscopy
• Anatomical study
• Supraorbital notch