title: Peripheral facial nerve paralysis after peritonsillar infiltration of bupivacaine: a case report.
abstract: Peritonsillar infiltration of a local anesthetic solution for reduction of posttonsillectomy pain is commonly used although the benefit and complications of this technique have not yet been well established. We report a case of a 4-year-old boy who developed peripheral facial nerve paralysis after perioperative infiltration of bupivacaine and uneventful tonsillectomy. The paralysis was noticed a few minutes after extubation and resolved completely after 8 hours. We assumed this to be caused by the direct action of the local anesthetic agent on the facial nerve.
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT, Haemek Medical Center, Afula, Israel. lev_sh@clalit.org.il
authors.forename: Lev
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shlizerman
authors.forename: Dror
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ashkenazi
mesh_terms: D000233:Adenoidectomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002045:Bupivacaine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000139:chemically induced*; D006801:Humans; D007322:Instillation, Drug; D008297:Male; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D014068:Tonsillectomy / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D002045:Bupivacaine