A Rare Case in Early Postpartum Period: Bilateral Facial Paralysis

Year 2018, Volume: 9 Issue: 4, 83 - 85, 01.10.2018

Abuzer Coşkun Şevki Hakan Eren

Abstract

Introduction: Losing the bilateral muscle functions on one side of the face or both sides is called facial paralysis (FP). FP is observed more frequently in women during pregnancy and in early postpartum period when compared with other women. Bilateral FP, on the other hand, is a very rare situation among other paralyses. The facial nerve paralysis may be observed due to various reasons, such as genetic factors, vascular ischemia and inflammation developed due to viral infection, autoimmune diseases, temporal bone fractures, head-neck tumors, and central nervous system lesions. However, despite these known factors, the majority of FP cases are idiopathic. For this reason, more diseases must be considered to shed some light on the etiology of FP. It is already known that corticosteroids are efficien twhen used early in treatment. A complete blood counts and serologic tests were performed in patients, and the results came back normal. During a 14-day treatment, 1mg/kg methyl prednisolone was applied. After 3 weeks, complete healing took place.Case Report: Written informed consent was obtained from who participated in this study. A 36-year-old female patient worked as a teacher in an educational institution. As of the postpartum 5th day, the patient first experienced sudden pain and then numbness, which were more prominent in the left cheek and ear. After 2 days, the patient reported with a slight pull, first on the left side of the face and then on the right side, disruption in smiling, being unable to close the eyelids adequately, difficulty at chewing, slight swelling in the face and lips.Conclusion: In this case study, we present a clinical follow-up and treatment of a postpartum patient diagnosed with idiopathic bilateral FP, accompanied by literature findings

Keywords

Bilateral facial paralysis, postpartum early period, emergency department

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