title: Traumatic midbrain hematoma in a patient presenting with an isolated palsy of voluntary facial movements. Case report.
abstract: The authors report on the case of a young man with a mild head injury and an isolated palsy of voluntary facial movements, attributed to a midbrain traumatic hematoma. This exception to the generally accepted conjunction between brainstem contusion and poor prognosis pertains to a special entity of midbrain laceration due to hyperextension of the head, with minimal influence on the level of consciousness. The clinical presentation of this lesion with facial palsy sparing emotion-related movement has rarely been described and offers a clue for exploring the neuroanatomy of facial movement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Athens, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Triantafyllos
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bouras
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stranjalis
authors.forename: Damianos E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Sakas
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D020203:Brain Stem Hemorrhage, Traumatic / Q000150:complications*; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D020198:Intracranial Hemorrhage, Traumatic / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013788:Thalamus / Q000473:pathology*; D014836:Volition