title: Post-Traumatic Bilateral Facial Paralysis Associated with Temporal Bone Fracture.
abstract: Bilateral traumatic facial paralysis is a very rare clinical condition. Loss of taste sensation, associated with bilateral traumatic paralysis, is even rarer and has not been well described in the literature. In this report, a 23-year old male, who developed bilateral facial paralysis with loss of taste sensation and hearing impairment, following a motor vehicle accident, is presented. He had initially presented with unconsciousness for about 2 hours after he sustained closed head injury after a motor vehicle accident. Initial Computed Tomography (CT) scans revealed a small epidural hematoma, right temporal bone fracture and air densities around the basal cistern. On the 4th day after trauma, he was noted to have incomplete closure of both eyes and was feeling difficulty with chewing and drooling of saliva. Electrodiagnostic testing confirmed the diagnosis of bilateral facial paralysis-House-Brackmann (HB) grade V. Electroneuronography (ENoG) showed degeneration of 90% nerve fibres bilaterally. The high-resolution CT scans showed bilateral temporal bone fractures. At 3 months of follow-up, the patient had partial recovery of facial nerve function bilaterally and improvement in HB classification to grade III and ENoG of 60% was observed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Physiology, College of Medicine and King Saud University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Syed Shahid
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Habib
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Physiology, College of Medicine and King Saud University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Fawzia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Al Rouq
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Physiology, College of Medicine and King Saud University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Imran
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Meo
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001299:Audiometry; D004576:Electromyography; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*; D016489:Head Injuries, Closed / Q000150:complications*; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000209:etiology*; D006407:Hematoma, Epidural, Cranial; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000293:injuries*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones