Analysis of the prognosis and the recovery process of profound facial nerve paralysis secondary to acoustic neuroma resection

The prognosis and the recovery process of facial nerve paralysis were reviewed in 74 patients who, despite preservation of nerve continuity, showed no facial movement after acoustic neuroma resection. In 50 or 67.6% of patients, facial movement recovered sufficiently so as not to require any reanimation procedures. However, no apparent sign of remission was observed for 7–49 months in the other 24 patients (32.4%), and hypoglossal-facial nerve anastomosis was performed in 20 of these patients. When remission was seen, the first sign of muscle movement appeared most frequently after 3–4 months but, in a small number of patients, it was also seen within 1.5 months or after 5–10 months. Based upon these results, the timing of reanimation procedures for facial nerve paralysis following acoustic neuroma resection is discussed.