ABSTRACT
Foix Chavany Marie syndrome, also called as bilateral opercular syndrome (OPS) was first described in 1837 by Magnus and further defined by Foix, Chavany and Marie in 1926 after whom it was named so. Here, we present a case of 37-year-old female, with known recurrent CVA who presented with sudden onset aphasia, dysphagia and difficulty in opening and closing her mouth and drooling of saliva. On imaging, patient was found to have ischemia of bilateral operculum.
ABSTRACT
Bilateral opercular syndrome or Foix-Chavany-Marie syndrome (FCMS) is characterized by facio-pharyngo-glosso-masticatory diplegia with an automatic-voluntary movement dissociation, which is usually caused by bilateral fron-toparietal opercular lesions. A 52 year-old man suddenly developed left hemiplegia and also presented with anarthria, dysphagia, difficulty in jaw opening and mastication. However, involuntary swallowing and slight control of jaw move-ments were partly preserved. His gag reflex was decreased and emotional incontinence was absent. Brain magnetic res-onance (MR) imaging revealed high signal lesions in the right middle cerebral artery territory and left anterior opercu-lum. Severe stenosis of the right middle cerebral artery was observed on a MR angiogram. Rehabilitation training by cueing has improved his ability to open the mouth. To our knowledge, this is the first report of FCMS in Korea, and a cautious differential diagnosis of pseudobulbar palsy or buccofacial apraxia may be crucial.