Surgical timing for facial paralysis after temporal bone trauma.

Objectives: To explore surgical timing of facial paralysis after temporal bone trauma. Methods: The clinical data of the patients with facial paralysis after temporal bone trauma who underwent subtotal facial nerve decompression were retrospectively collected, and 80 cases followed-up for one year were enrolled in the study. They were divided into different subgroups according to the age, onset, and interval between facial paralysis and surgery, and the outcomes of facial nerve between different subgroups were compared. Results: The number of patients who achieved good recovery of HB Grade I or II was 52 of 80 (65.0%). 43 of 66 cases (65.2%) in the younger group had good recovery of facial nerve in contrast to 9 of 14 cases (643%) in the elderly group, without significant difference (p > 0.05). 9 of 13 cases (69.2%) in the delayed onset group had good recovery, while 43 of 67 cases (642%) in the immediate onset group had good recovery, without significant difference (p > 0.05). The good recovery rate of the <1 month group was statistically higher compared to the 3- 6 months group or the >6 months group (P < 0.05), while the good recovery rate of the <1 month group was not statistically higher than that of the 1- 2 months group or the 2- 3 months group (P> 0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the good recovery rate of facial paralysis after temporal bone trauma was uncorrelated with age and onset. It was better to perform surgical decompression within 3 months after facial paralysis. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.