Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Dec 16, 2015; 3(12): 973-979
Published online Dec 16, 2015. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v3.i12.973
Facial nerve paralysis in children
Andrea Ciorba, Virginia Corazzi, Veronica Conz, Chiara Bianchini, Claudia Aimoni
Andrea Ciorba, Virginia Corazzi, Veronica Conz, Chiara Bianchini, Claudia Aimoni, ENT and Audiology Department, University Hospital of Ferrara, 44100 Ferrara, Italy
Author contributions: All the authors contributed to this work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Andrea Ciorba, MD, PhD, ENT and Audiology Department, University Hospital of Ferrara, Via A Moro 8, loc Cona, 44100 Ferrara, Italy. andrea.ciorba@unife.it
Telephone: +39-532-239746 Fax: +39-532-237447
Received: May 20, 2015
Peer-review started: May 21, 2015
First decision: August 16, 2015
Revised: September 26, 2015
Accepted: October 12, 2015
Article in press: October 13, 2015
Published online: December 16, 2015
Processing time: 201 Days and 15.5 Hours
Abstract

Facial nerve palsy is a condition with several implications, particularly when occurring in childhood. It represents a serious clinical problem as it causes significant concerns in doctors because of its etiology, its treatment options and its outcome, as well as in little patients and their parents, because of functional and aesthetic outcomes. There are several described causes of facial nerve paralysis in children, as it can be congenital (due to delivery traumas and genetic or malformative diseases) or acquired (due to infective, inflammatory, neoplastic, traumatic or iatrogenic causes). Nonetheless, in approximately 40%-75% of the cases, the cause of unilateral facial paralysis still remains idiopathic. A careful diagnostic workout and differential diagnosis are particularly recommended in case of pediatric facial nerve palsy, in order to establish the most appropriate treatment, as the therapeutic approach differs in relation to the etiology.

Keywords: Facial paralysis; Seventh cranial nerve; Children; Bell’s palsy; Therapy

Core tip: Pediatric facial nerve palsy can be congenital or acquired and its etiology can remain unknown. Bell’s palsy is the most frequent form of facial paralysis also in children; about 70% of these cases has a favorable prognosis with spontaneous resolution. An accurate differential diagnosis is necessary to assess the prognosis and the therapeutic options. In Bell’s palsy, the use of oral corticosteroids is recommended also in children, preferably within 3 d from onset. In children presenting a permanent congenital or acquired facial palsy, the therapeutic strategy consists in surgical techniques associated to rehabilitative approaches.