[The rehabilitation of the tongue in hypoglossal-facial anastomosis].
End to end hypoglossal-facial nerve anastomosis (tt HFA) is a traditional technique for rehabilitation of facial palsy. The sacrifice of the hypoglossal nerve generates a paralysis and an atrophy of the tongue which is thought to lead to speech, chewing and swallowing disorders. In a previous study, we demonstrated that tt HFA does not lead to speech disorders (Gatignol et al 2003).


OBJECTIVE
In this work, we were interested in the functional consequences of the lingual atrophy and in the possibilities of rehabilitation with early therapy.


METHODS
Nine patients were distributed in two groups, in one patients received a specific and early lingual rehabilitation in the other no specific treatment. These two groups (paired with control subjects) were subjected to a series of tests studying the motor function, the articulation (using palatograms).


RESULTS
This study highlights the interest of early rehabilitation of the tongue in the first post-operative days. Early rehabilitation was associated with a reduction in lingual atrophy, an improvement in motility of the tongue thus generating a better management of saliva and stagnant food in the oral vestibule on the paralysed side.
Gatignol
P
P
Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris VI et Laboratoire de la Cognition et du Comportement FRE 2987, Paris V/CNRS. peggy.gatignol@psl.ap-hop-paris.fr
Cortadellas
A L
AL
Grandi
S
S
Tankere
F
F
Lobryeau
C
C
Wilier
J C
JC
Lamas
G
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical; D001284:Atrophy; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000601:surgery*; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007002:Hypoglossal Nerve / Q000601:surgery*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010699:Phonation / Q000502:physiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011184:Postoperative Period; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013997:Time Factors; D014059:Tongue / Q000294:innervation* / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology