Multidisciplinary Care of Patients with Facial Palsy: Treatment of 1220 Patients in a German Facial Nerve Center

Abstract

To determine treatment and outcome in a tertiary multidisciplinary facial nerve center, a retrospective observational study was performed of all patients referred between 2007 and 2018. Facial grading with the Stennert index, the Facial Clinimetric Evaluation (FaCE) scale, and the Facial Disability Index (FDI) were used for outcome evaluation; 1220 patients (58.4% female, median age: 50 years; chronic palsy: 42.8%) were included. Patients with acute and chronic facial palsy were treated in the center for a median of 3.6 months and 10.8 months, respectively. Dominant treatment in the acute phase was glucocorticoids ± acyclovir (47.2%), followed by a significant improvement of all outcome measures (p p p p < 0.05). A standardized multidisciplinary team approach in a facial nerve center leads to improved facial and emotional function in patients with acute or chronic facial palsy.

Keywords

• multidisciplinary care
• Bell’s palsy
• chronic facial palsy
• facial paralysis
• facial nerve surgery
• botulinum toxin