Differential diagnosis of recurrent or bilateral peripheral facial palsy.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the differential diagnosis of recurrent or bilateral peripheral facial palsy.

METHOD

Case report and literature review.

RESULTS

Two patients with recurrent, alternating, peripheral facial palsy are described. In both patients, additional investigation was performed to search for a specific diagnosis. In the first patient, only a positive family history was found, indicating a possible familial susceptibility. In the other patient, diabetes mellitus and hypertension were identified as risk factors.

CONCLUSION

There is an important and extensive differential diagnosis of recurrent or bilateral facial palsy. However, in a large proportion of patients the cause remains unknown.