OBJECTIVES Pure tone audiometry and caloric test in patients with herpes zoster oticus were performed to determine the biologic features of the varicella zoster virus (VZV) and the pathogenesis of vestibulocochlear nerve disease in herpes zoster oticus. STUDY DESIGN A retrospective chart review of 160 patients with herpes zoster oticus was designed in order to determine the classic characteri...

IMPORTANCE Facial paralysis can contribute to disfigurement, psychological difficulties, and an inability to convey emotion via facial expression. In patients unable to perform a meaningful smile, free gracilis muscle transfer (FGMT) can often restore smile function. However, little is known about the impact on disease-specific quality of life. OBJECTIVE To determine quantitatively whether FG...

Bell's palsy is the eponym for idiopathic peripheral facial paralysis. It is named after Sir Charles Bell (1774-1842), who, in the first half of the nineteenth century, discovered the function of the facial nerve and attracted the attention of the medical world to facial paralysis. Our knowledge of this condition before Bell's landmark publications is very limited and is based on just a few doc...

The formation of arteriovenous fistula beneath the parotid is relatively rare. To the best of our knowledge, the present study reports the first case of a 48-year-old man with a pulsatile mass on the left parotid region, which had been present for >3 years following penetrating wounds. Computed tomography angiography and digital subtraction angiography revealed a fistula between the left extern...

Remittent isolated palsy of peripheral or of upper cranial nerves in diabetic patients is well documented, but paralysis of a lower cranial nerve or an isolated branch of any cranial nerve has rarely been reported. In the case described, besides temporary hypoglossal and facial nerve palsies previously, unilateral temporary vocal cord palsy caused by right inferior laryngeal nerve (recurrent) p...

OBJECTIVE To compare the characteristics and prognosis of patients with malignant (necrotizing) external otitis (MEO) with and without facial nerve palsy in today's era of third-generation antibiotics. DESIGN Comparative retrospective case series. SETTING Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Rabin Medical Center, a tertiary care medical center. PATIENTS Forty-eight patients...