Leboulanger Nicolas, Maldent Jean-Baptiste, Glynn Fergal, Charrier Jean-Baptiste, Monteil Jean-Paul, Garabedian Erea-Noël
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Department, Armand Trousseau Hospital, Paris, France.
Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2012 Aug;76(8):1205-10. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2012.05.007. Epub 2012 Jun 1.
Congenital facial paralysis is a rare disorder with an incidence of less than 1 in 1000 live births. Several surgical rehabilitation techniques have been described, such as free flaps or transpositions of the temporalis muscle. We report our experience of transposition of the temporalis muscle in this indication.
Retrospective monocentric study between January 2005 and December 2009.
Five children (mean age at the surgery: 7.3 years, range 6-13) presenting with a congenital facial paralysis were treated by a temporalis muscle transposition during the considered period. An etiological assessment was achieved by carrying out a petrous bone CT, a cerebral and petrous MRI, and audiometric evaluation. Four patients out of 5 (80%) showed a satisfactory and stable functional outcome over time (average follow-up: 26 months).
Temporalis muscle transposition is a single-stage procedure, easily adapted for the pediatric condition of congenital facial paralysis. It is our opinion that this procedure needs to be carried out at the end of the pre-school period.
