Surgical Treatment of Facial Paralysis

Paralysis of the seventh cranial, or facial nerve, caused by either disease or injury, is more common than paralysis of any other cranial or spinal nerve, and since facial paralysis produces asymmetry of the face, inability to close the eye, lacrimation, difficulty in mastication and deglutition, and loss of expression, it presents a serious problem to the otologist, the neurologist and the neurologic surgeon. The prognosis depends on the site and type of injury. Some lesions heal spontaneously, others need surgical intervention. As numerous operations have been proposed, I shall discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each and review a series of cases in which operation was performed at the Mayo Clinic. ANATOMY OF THE FACIAL NERVE The facial nerve, according to Stewart,1like the trigeminal is a mixed nerve, possessing a motor root, the facial nerve proper and a sensory root, the nervus intermedius of Wrisberg. These