Academic Journal
Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Rehabilitation / Physical Therapy
Article Date: 21 Mar 2011 - 13:00 PDT window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId: 'aa16a4bf93f23f07eb33109d5f1134d3', status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true, channelUrl: 'http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/scripts/facebooklike.html'}); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }());
email to a friend 
printer friendly 
opinions
Patients with facial paralysis who underwent surgical treatment for a condition that leaves them unable to completely close their eyes reported improvement in comfort around the eyes and overall quality of life, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
The inability to close the eye can be a devastating result of facial paralysis. "The resulting loss of corneal protection can lead to exposure keratitis [inflammation of the cornea], corneal ulceration, and potentially permanently vision loss," the authors write as background information in the article. "Eyelid weight placement, lower eyelid suspension, and brow ptosis [drooping or sagging of the eyelid] correction are frequently performed to protect the eye."
Douglas K. Henstrom, M.D., of Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, and colleagues measured and reported the change in quality of life (QOL) after surgical periocular treatment. The researchers used the Facial Clinimetric Evaluation (FaCE) scale - a patient-based system that measures impairment and disability in facial paralysis and represents a valuable adjunct to traditional physician-graded scales for evaluating QOL issues in patients affected by facial paralysis.
From March 2009 to May 2010, 49 patients with paralytic inability to completely close the eye were treated at the Facial Nerve Center at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston. Thirty-seven of the patients completed preoperative and postoperative FaCE surveys.
"Overall QOL, measured by the FaCE instrument, significantly improved following static periocular treatment," the authors report. "Mean FaCE scores increased from 44.1 to 52.7."
"Patients also reported a significant decrease in the amount of time their eye felt dry, irritated, or scratchy," the authors write.
Two patients experienced localized cellulitis (a bacterial infection of the skin and tissues beneath the skin) in reaction to the eyelid weight. There was one eyelid weight extrusion.
"In the overall treatment paradigm for patients with facial paralysis, treating the eye using this modality is simple, and not only improves corneal protection but also yields a significant subjective benefit," the authors conclude.
Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2011;13[2]:125-128.
Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.
Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.
If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.
All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)
Contact Our News Editors
For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.
Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:
Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions
MediLexicon International Ltd
Bexhill-on-Sea, UK
MediLexicon International Ltd © 2004-2011 All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment