Recovery of congenital facial palsy in patients with hemifacial microsomia subjected to sural to facial nerve grafts is enhanced by electric field stimulation.

The effect of electric field stimulation for promoting axonal growth between sural to facial nerve grafts in cases of congenital permanent facial palsy associated with hemifacial microsomia was studied. For this purpose, a total of 17 patients with unilateral congenital permanent facial palsy associated with hemifacial microsomia were studied pre- and post-operatively. A sural to facial nerve graft was performed in all cases and long term postoperative electric field stimulation was randomly applied to half of the patients. Although improvement occurred in both groups, the results indicated that clinical and electrophysiological recovery was significantly better in patients receiving post-operative electric field stimulation. The results, therefore, suggest that electric stimulation of the grafted area induces improvements of facial palsy over and above those observed in the non-stimulated patients.

[Treatment of congenital facial paralysis with crossed innervation of facial nerve and electric field stimulation]. / Tratamiento de la parálisis facial congénita con inervación cruzada de nervio facial y estimulación con campos eléctricos.

Congenital facial palsy is a devastating deformity. At present time there are no reports of the early treatment of this disorder. The treatment may be to supply contralateral auto reinnervation to the affected muscles through a sural-facial nerve graft enhanced by electric field stimulation. The purpose of this paper is to report 5 cases of congenital facial palsy treated by a crossed sural-facial nerve graft, enhanced by electric field stimulation. One year after surgery, clinical and electrodiagnostic examinations indicate appropriate reinnervation activity in all the patients.