Excision of a vestibular schwannoma or any lesion in close proximity to the seventh cranial nerve (facial nerve) can compromise the nerve due to traction or, less commonly, neuropraxia. We retrospectively evaluated the effect of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) on preventing exposure keratitis in patients with postoperative facial nerve paralysis....
This is a technical note rather than a controlled trial; no practice change is warranted, but the technique may be a useful reference for multidisciplinary teams managing postoperative facial nerve palsy after skull-base surgery.
Postoperative facial nerve paralysis is a significant morbidity following vestibular schwannoma surgery, and describing a structured botulinum toxin protocol adds a potential management option to the literature.
- 01Botulinum neurotoxin is proposed as a management tool for facial nerve paralysis after vestibular schwannoma excision.
- 02The article is a technical note — it describes technique rather than reporting controlled outcome data.
- 03Facial nerve (seventh cranial nerve) injury is a known risk of surgery near the internal auditory canal.
- 04Published in Neurology India; peripheral to core audiology but relevant to audiologists working in skull-base or neuro-audiology settings.
- 05No comparative or long-term outcome data are provided.
Botulinum neurotoxin can be used to manage postoperative facial nerve paralysis following vestibular schwannoma surgery.
opinionpartially supported- PMID
- 42478402
- DOI
- 10.4103/neurol-india.Neurol-India-D-26-00277.
- Journal
- Neurology India
- Publication type
- case_report
- Evidence level
- 5
- Population
- Patients with postoperative facial nerve paralysis following vestibular schwannoma excision or surgery near the seventh cranial nerve
- Intervention
- Botulinum neurotoxin injection for postoperative facial nerve paralysis
Primary outcomes
Management of postoperative facial nerve paralysis