Two Cases of Contralateral Depressor Labii Inferioris Resection in Patients with Congenital Unilateral Lower Lip Paralysis / 대한이비인후과학회지

Congenital unilateral lower lip paralysis (CULLP) is a rare condition characterized by inversion and absent depressive movement of the affected lower lip while moving the mouth, which is recognized when the infant cries. CULLP is a variation of facial paralysis caused by abnormal development of marginal mandibular nerve, hypoplasia of the depressor labii inferioris muscle or depressor anguli oris muscle. This report introduces two cases of congenital unilateral lower lip palsy, presenting a balancing technique involving the resection of the depressor labii inferioris on the non-affected side.

Temporal Lobe Retraction Provides Better Surgical Exposure of the Peri-Geniculate Ganglion for Facial Nerve Decompression via Transmastoid Approach

PURPOSE: For the exposure of the labyrinthine segment of the facial nerve, transmastoid approach is not usually considered due to being situated behind the superior semicircular canal. To obtain a better view and bigger field for manipulation in the peri-geniculate area during facial nerve decompression, retraction of temporal lobe after bony removal of tegmen mastoideum was designed via transmastoid approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients with traumatic facial paralysis [House-Brackmann (HB) grade IV–VI], 3 patients with Bell's palsy (HB grade V–VI), and 2 patients with herpes zoster oticus (HB grade V–VI) underwent facial nerve decompression surgery between January 2008 and July 2014. In all patients, we performed temporal lobe retraction for facial nerve decompression via the transmastoid approach. Patients were examined using pre operative tests including high-resolution computed tomography, temporal magnetic resonance imaging, audiometry, and electroneurography (degenerative ratio >90%). Facial function was evaluated by HB grading scale before and 6 months after the surgery. RESULTS: After the surgery, facial function recovered to HB grade I in 9 patients and to grade II in 11 patients. No problems due to surgical retraction of the temporal lobe were noted. Compared to the standard transmastoid approach, our method helped achieve a wider surgical view for improved manipulation in the peri-geniculate ganglion in all cases. CONCLUSION: Facial nerve decompression via the transmastoid approach with temporal lobe retraction provides better exposure to the key areas around the geniculate ganglion without complications.

Temporal Lobe Retraction Provides Better Surgical Exposure of the Peri-Geniculate Ganglion for Facial Nerve Decompression via Transmastoid Approach

PURPOSE: For the exposure of the labyrinthine segment of the facial nerve, transmastoid approach is not usually considered due to being situated behind the superior semicircular canal. To obtain a better view and bigger field for manipulation in the peri-geniculate area during facial nerve decompression, retraction of temporal lobe after bony removal of tegmen mastoideum was designed via transmastoid approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients with traumatic facial paralysis [House-Brackmann (HB) grade IV–VI], 3 patients with Bell's palsy (HB grade V–VI), and 2 patients with herpes zoster oticus (HB grade V–VI) underwent facial nerve decompression surgery between January 2008 and July 2014. In all patients, we performed temporal lobe retraction for facial nerve decompression via the transmastoid approach. Patients were examined using pre operative tests including high-resolution computed tomography, temporal magnetic resonance imaging, audiometry, and electroneurography (degenerative ratio >90%). Facial function was evaluated by HB grading scale before and 6 months after the surgery. RESULTS: After the surgery, facial function recovered to HB grade I in 9 patients and to grade II in 11 patients. No problems due to surgical retraction of the temporal lobe were noted. Compared to the standard transmastoid approach, our method helped achieve a wider surgical view for improved manipulation in the peri-geniculate ganglion in all cases. CONCLUSION: Facial nerve decompression via the transmastoid approach with temporal lobe retraction provides better exposure to the key areas around the geniculate ganglion without complications.

Early Stage Steroid Treatment for Acute Facial Paralysis in Korea / 대한이비인후과학회지

Facial nerve paralysis is an unexpected or embarrassed disease which unilateral facial musculatures are suddenly or gradually paralyzed by various causes. However, the most common cause of acute facial paralysis is known to be Bell's palsy. Until now, various treatments are recommended to patients with acute facial paralysis. Especially in Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, and China, there are so many patients who be managed by acupuncture therapy as the initial treatment, even if there exists clearly proven steroid therapy that minimizes neural damage and the incidence of permanent facial complications could be reduced. In Korea, various procedures not clearly unverified or unproven such as acupuncture treatment, massage therapy and thermotherapy are performed without standards regimen instead of administering steroid to patients with acute facial paralysis in the early stages. It has been already known that any initial trials with un-established treatment without full understanding of pathophysiology of facial nerve injury worsen prognosis after acute facial paralysis. There are reports showing that the prognosis of Korean patients with Bell's palsy is worse than globally known prognosis of patients with Bell's palsy. Such reports may reflect unverified procedures and consequently putting off steroid treatment in the early stages. Therefore, this is a paper intended to investigate issues occurring in treating a patient with acute facial paralysis in Korea in order to prepare the medical guidelines for the better solution.

Multifocality and Bilaterality of Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma

OBJECTIVES: Papillary thyroid carcinomas frequently occur as two or more separate foci within the thyroid gland (18%-87%). However, those multifocal tumors are easy to be undetected by preoperative radiologic evaluations, which lead to remnant disease after initial surgery. We aimed to study the incidence of multifocal papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (PTMCs), diagnostic accuracy of preoperative radiologic evaluation, predictive factors, and the chance of bilateral tumors. METHODS: Two hundred and seventy-seven patients with PTMC were included in this study. All patients underwent total thyroidectomy as an initial treatment. Medical records, pathologic reports, and radiological reports were reviewed for analysis. RESULTS: Multifocal PTMCs were detected in 100 of 277 patients (36.1%). The mean number of tumors in each patient was 1.6+/-1.1, ranging from 1 to 10. The additional tumor foci were significantly smaller (0.32+/-0.18 cm) than the primary tumors (0.63+/-0.22 cm) (P<0.001). There was no significant relationship between primary tumor size and the presence of contralateral tumors. With more tumors detected in one lobe, there was greater chance of contralateral tumors; 18.8% with single tumor focus, 30.2% with 2 tumor foci, and 46.2% with 3 or more tumor foci in one lobe. Sensitivity of preoperative sonography was 42.7% for multifocal tumors and 49.0% for bilateral tumors. With multivariate analysis, nodular hyperplasia was the only significant factor for multifocal tumors. CONCLUSION: In cases of PTMCs, the incidence of multifocal tumors is high. However, additional tumor foci are too small to be diagnosed preoperatively, especially under the recent guidelines on radiologic screening tests for papillary thyroid carcinoma. Multifocal PTMCs have high risk of bilateral tumors, necessitating more extensive surgery or more thorough follow-up.