The abducens nerve (CN VI) is vulnerable to injury during endoscopic endonasal transcavernous surgery. In this study, the authors aimed to develop the surgical anatomic landmark and explore the relationship between the sympathetic nerves (SNs) around the internal carotid artery (ICA) and CN VI within the cavernous sinus (CS).

METHODS:

The relationship and patterns between the SNs and CN VI were investigated in 15 cadaveric specimens. The intraoperative examples of anatomic landmark were presented.