OBJECTIVES To review the aetiology and treatment of laryngeal paralysis diagnosed at our hospital and to describe the available therapeutic options. METHODS Retrospective review of medical records of 108 patients diagnosed with unilateral and bilateral vocal fold paralysis between 2000 and 2012, identifying the cause of paralysis and its treatment. RESULTS Of the 108 cases analysed, 70% had...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Bell's palsy is highly associated with diabetes mellitus (DM). Either the reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) or diabetic mononeuropathy has been proposed to cause the facial paralysis observed in DM patients. However, distinguishing whether the facial palsy is caused by herpetic neuritis or diabetic mononeuropathy is difficult. We previously reported that ...

OBJECTIVE To describe a highly quantitative facial function-measuring tool that yields accurate, objective measures of facial position in significantly less time than existing methods. METHODS Facial Assessment by Computer Evaluation (FACE) software was designed for facial analysis. Outputs report the static facial landmark positions and dynamic facial movements relevant in facial reanimation...

OBJECTIVE Evaluation of the effect of mime therapy, a novel therapy combining mime and physiotherapy, for patients with longstanding (at least 9 months) sequelae of unilateral peripheral facial paralysis. STUDY DESIGN Randomized clinical trial, with the treatment group receiving mime therapy and the control group forming a waiting list. SETTING Physiotherapy outpatient department of two uni...

Introduction: Benign parotid lesion is rarely associated with facial nerve paralysis. If it happens, it is mainly due to the compression effect on the nerve and usually will recover after surgical intervention. Few cases of parotid abscess which involved facial nerve, mainly in elderly have been reported. Case report: In our case, we would like to report a case of parotid abscess in a young hea...

Opercular syndrome, also known as Foix-Chavany-Marie syndrome, is a paralysis of the facial, pharyngeal, masticatory, tongue, laryngeal, and brachial muscles. It is a rare cortical form of pseudobulbar palsies caused by vascular insults to bilateral operculum. Its clinical presentations include anarthria, weakness of voluntary muscles involving face, tongue, pharynx, larynx, and masticatory mus...

Dysphagia may in rare instances be a presenting feature of unilateral cerebral lesions. Normally, bilateral lesions are necessary to cause neurological disturbance of swallowing but there appear to be occasional subjects where this is not so. Cases are presented and the literature reviewed to illustrate this. The dysphagia may occur in isolation and is not necessarily accompanied by dysarthria,...

Ramsay Hunt syndrome (RHS) is characterized by facial paralysis, inner ear dysfunction, periauricular pain, and herpetiform vesicles. The reported incidence in children is 2.7/100,000. The pathogenesis involves the reactivation of latent varicella zoster virus (VZV) in the geniculate ganglion of the facial nerve. The recovery rate is better in children than in adults. This paper discusses a 12-...

Vocal cord paralysis is one of the most serious anesthetic complications related to endotracheal intubation. The practitioner should take extreme care, as bilateral vocal cord paralysis can obstruct the airway and lead to disastrous respiratory problems. There have been many papers on bilateral vocal cord paralysis after neck surgery, but reports on such a condition after lung surgery are very ...