MEDICAL REHABILITATION IN PATIENT WITH RIGHT PERIPHERAL FACIAL NERVE PARESIS CAUSED BY PAROTIDECTOMY

Abstract

The facial nerve is a seventh cranial nerve, innervates the following four components such as tactile sensation of the parts of the external ear, taste sensation to the anterior 2/3 of the tongue, muscles of facial expression and salivary and lacrimal glands.¹ Peripheral facial nerve palsy (FNP) can have various causes, such as Bell‟s Palsy, which is the most common cause. Among the secondary causes, local trauma to the facial nerve, tumors, postsurgical complications, or reactivated varicella zoster virus infection of the geniculate ganglion (Ramsay Hunt‟s syndrome).²Salivary gland tumors represent 3-10% of all head and neck neoplasms. These tumors occur predominantly in major salivary glands. The parotid gland is affected most often, ranging from 36.6 to 83%. Malignant tumors are a minority, occurring in 15-32% of cases. The deficit of the nerve function may be total (paralysis) or partial (paresis), and from injury to the main trunk or only the individual branches . ^3,4,5The first report of a parotidectomy with preservation of the facial nerve was described in 1825 by Johann Ferdinand Heyfelder.⁶Therapies for peripheral facial palsy should be targeted to maximize return of facial nerve function according to the most likely cause, as well as the severity.². The post parotidectomy facial nerve grading system (PPFNGS) was created based on these three grading system. PPFNGS is a new grading system designed for assessing the facial nerve function after parotidectomy. This scale examines the function of four branches of facial nerve. Many techniques including exercise, electrical stimulation, biofeedback and motor re-education, have been described for the treatment of patients with facial paresis.