We investigated techniques of dissection of the facial nerve currently being used in parotid surgery for benign disease in oral and maxillofacial (OMF) and ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery. A postal questionnaire was sent to 300 OMF and 300 ENT consultants and 49% were returned(171(57%) OMF and 123 (41%) ENT. The antegrade technique was used routinely by 209 surgeons (87%), the retrograde technique by 9 (4%), and both techniques combined by 21 surgeons (9%). The antegrade technique was used by 135 surgeons (56%) for revision parotidectomy, by 193 (81%) for limited superficial parotidectomy, by 173 (72%) for obese patients with large tumours and by 75 (31%) for injury to the facial nerve. The retrograde technique was used by 21 surgeons (9%) for revision parotidectomy, by 22 (9%) for limited superficial parotidectomy, by 15 (6%) for obese patients with large tumours and by 29 surgeons (12%) for injury to the facial nerve. A combination of techniques was chosen by 83 surgeons (35%) in revision parotidectomy, by 24 surgeons (10%) in limited superficial parotidectomy, by 51 surgeons (21%) in obese patients with large tumours and by (56%) surgeons 135 for injury to the facial nerve.