Bell's palsy and its recurrences.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and the prognosis of patients with recurrences of Bell's palsy. Yanagihara's classification of recurrent palsies was used, and all palsies were separated into five different types. A total of 304 patients with Bell's palsy were examined. The recurrent ipsilateral attacks (i.e., the unilateral recurrent palsies) showed a worse prognosis when compared with the non-recurrent palsies. In contrast, the recurrent attacks involving the contralateral facial nerve (bilateral alternating palsies) presented a better facial recovery. In reviewing the recurrent cases, the stapedial reflex demonstrated no prognostic value. Our results suggest that in presenting data of Bell's palsy it is advisable to differentiate the recurrences from the common (non-recurrent) palsies.