The comparison of the effects of ozone therapy and low laser therapy on travmatic facial nerve injury

Facial expression of people represents their physical and genetical features along with their emotions. Facial Nerve (FN) controls facial mimics which have important role for determination of identity and environmental relationships of any person. FN has not only motor functions, but also has a complicated structure consisting of emotional, taste and parasympathetic functions. There is a special paralyses type called "Bell's Paralyses" which takes place first among the reasons of Peripheric Facial Paralyses. Clinical findings with its symptoms can be counted as; paralyze on one side of whole facial muscles and paralysis, weakness on facial muscles, one sided hanging down of lip and eyebrow, and xerophthalmia due to reduced eyelid function. Treatment for nerve damage consists of non-invasive methods like pharmacological approaches, invasive methods, and alternative treatments like acupuncture, laser treatment or ozone therapy. Laser treatment is one of the mostly preferred between alternative treatment methods. One of the other alternative methods is Ozone therapy or usage of products including the ozone source. In this thesis, we aimed to compare Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) and Ozone Therapy (OT) methods in rats with facial nerve damage model, by evaluating histologically their impacts on healing of damaged nerve tissue by. Our study is conducted with 10-12 weeks old 30 wistar kind-albino type female rats with 220±20 gr of weight. In order to create neuropathic damage under general anesthesia for all groups, a damage is generated to left facial nerves of rats by covering all diameter and keeping clamp by 30 sec. Then, while keeping control group to heal spontaneously, 4J for 32 sec for low dose lase therapy is applied to laser group, and 2 ml, 80 µm/ml at twice a day systemic ozone therapy is applied to ozone group. At week 4, sacrificiations are done and samples taken from facial are kept in formaldehyde to analyse histologically. Epineurium, perineurium and endonerium existence and continuation in analyzed transects, along with nerve area measurement before nerve branching, fascicule number after branching, axone number before damage and after transect were evaluated. In analyzed transects, numbers of nerve fiber branching, diameter of nerve fiber, area of nerve fiber, number of axone, compared to control group, difference in Laser group is found, however a statistically significant difference was observed in Ozone (p<0,05) group.