Facial paralysis and surgical rehabilitation: A quality of life analysis in a cohort of 1,595 patients after acoustic neuroma surgery. Otol Neurotol 2005;26:516-521

Objectives: On the basis of survey results of the Acoustic Neuroma Association, we report patient ratings of facial dysfunction and outcomes for various facial rehabilitative therapies after surgical treatment of acoustic neuroma (AN). We assessed patients' perceived quality of life (QOL) and reviewed the literature regarding facial dysfunction and its management associated with AN.

Study Design: The Acoustic Neuroma Association mailed a detailed questionnaire to 2,372 members to identify preoperative and postoperative symptoms, complications, and long-term effects on physical and psychosocial function. A cohort of 1,595 (82.2%) respondents who underwent surgical treatment of ANs reported their experiences with facial dysfunction.

Patients: Of all 1,940 survey respondents, 1,682 of 1,875 that had ANs underwent surgical treatment. The study included 1,595 patients with ANs (82.2% of all respondents) who underwent surgical treatment by way of the translabyrinthine, suboccipital, or middle fossa approaches and excluded 87 respondents who did not report the type of surgical approach.

Methods: Respondents answered questions intended to qualify and quantify the degree that facial dysfunction impacted QOL parameters. Responses were analyzed for tumor size, surgical approach, patient age, and sex. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software.

Results: In our analysis, 11% of all respondents experienced some degree of preoperative facial weakness or eye problems. Of all respondents, 45.5% (725 patients) experienced worsened facial weakness caused by surgery, and of these, 72% reported that it was permanent. The most commonly used successful therapy for facial reanimation for 271 (19.6%) patients was placement of a gold weight. The factor most often associated with poor outcome was a large tumor. Of all respondents, 28% felt significantly affected by facial weakness, 63% felt their smile was symmetric, and 70% were content “quite a bit” or “very much” with their QOL.

Conclusions: In this large cohort study of AN patients, facial dysfunction was a significant morbidity. Physicians should be aware of the risk factors identified, specifically large tumor size and the impact facial dysfunction has on QOL, when counseling patients regarding optimal management of AN.