Vol.95 No.7 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 95 No. 7 July 2002
Bilateral Traumatic Facial Nerve Palsy and Ossicular
Chain Dislocations; Case Report
Tetsuo Morihana, Tadashi Kitahara, Kazumasa Kondoh and Shin-ichi Okumura
(Osaka Rosai Hospital)
Cases of bilateral traumatic facial nerve palsy are seen in 2.5％-4.3％ of all cases. We report a rare case of bilateral traumatic palsy accompanied with bilateral ossicular chain dislocations. Additionally, we review the literature for past cases and consider the cause of this unusual case.
A 41-year-old male received injuries from having his head squeezed between concrete walls on a building construction site. Bilateral hearing loss and bilateral facial nerve palsy appeared soon after the accident. After treatment for his more lethal disorders, the patient was referred to our hospital a month after the accident. His expressions were very poor and he had bilateral hearing disturbances. He was diagnosed with bilateral traumatic facial nerve palsy and ossicular chain dislocations according to the findings of middle-ear CT. We decided to perform tympanoplasty and facial nerve decompression. Six months after surgery, his facial score had improved to grade II (pre-op grade V). His conductive hearing loss was also cured, the air-bone gap having disappeared.
Key words : bilateral, traumatic, facial nerve palsy, ossicular chain dislocations