Hemipalatal palsy and microtia.

Unilateral microtia is not a separate entity but rather a part of the syndrome of hemifacial microsomia. To document the high incidence of hemipalatal palsy among microtia patients, 19 patients with unilateral microtia are reviewed. Partial innervation of the levator veli palatini muscle by the VII cranial nerve, and origin of this muscle from the second branchial arch, are suggested as the basis of the inclusion of hemipalatal palsy in hemifacial microsomia.