Lisa E. Ishii

Clinical Practice Guideline: Bell’s Palsy

Objective Bell’s palsy, named after the Scottish anatomist, Sir Charles Bell, is the most common acute mono-neuropathy, or disorder affecting a single nerve, and is the most common diagnosis associated with facial nerve weakness/paralysis. Bell’s palsy is a rapid unilateral facial nerve paresis (weakness) or paralysis (complete loss of movement) of unknown cause. The condition leads to the partial or complete inability to voluntarily move facial muscles on the affected side of the face. Although typically self-limited, the facial paresis/paralysis that occurs in Bell’s palsy may cause significant temporary oral incompetence and an inability to close the eyelid, leading to potential eye injury. Additional long-term poor outcomes do occur and can be devastating to the patient. Treatments are generally designed to improve facial function and facilitate recovery. There are myriad treatment options for Bell’s palsy, and some controversy exists regarding the effectiveness of several of these options, and there are consequent variations in care. In addition, numerous diagnostic tests available are used in the evaluation of patients with Bell’s palsy. Many of these tests are of questionable benefit in Bell’s palsy. Furthermore, while patients with Bell’s palsy enter the health care system with facial paresis/paralysis as a primary complaint, not all patients with facial paresis/paralysis have Bell’s palsy. It is a concern that patients with alternative underlying etiologies may be misdiagnosed or have unnecessary delay in diagnosis. All of these quality concerns provide an important opportunity for improvement in the diagnosis and management of patients with Bell’s palsy. Purpose The primary purpose of this guideline is to improve the accuracy of diagnosis for Bell’s palsy, to improve the quality of care and outcomes for patients with Bell’s palsy, and to decrease harmful variations in the evaluation and management of Bell’s palsy. This guideline addresses these needs by encouraging accurate and efficient diagnosis and treatment and, when applicable, facilitating patient follow-up to address the management of long-term sequelae or evaluation of new or worsening symptoms not indicative of Bell’s palsy. The guideline is intended for all clinicians in any setting who are likely to diagnose and manage patients with Bell’s palsy. The target population is inclusive of both adults and children presenting with Bell’s palsy. Action Statements The development group made a strong recommendation that (a) clinicians should assess the patient using history and physical examination to exclude identifiable causes of facial paresis or paralysis in patients presenting with acute-onset unilateral facial paresis or paralysis, (b) clinicians should prescribe oral steroids within 72 hours of symptom onset for Bell’s palsy patients 16 years and older, (c) clinicians should not prescribe oral antiviral therapy alone for patients with new-onset Bell’s palsy, and (d) clinicians should implement eye protection for Bell’s palsy patients with impaired eye closure. The panel made recommendations that (a) clinicians should not obtain routine laboratory testing in patients with new-onset Bell’s palsy, (b) clinicians should not routinely perform diagnostic imaging for patients with new-onset Bell’s palsy, (c) clinicians should not perform electrodiagnostic testing in Bell’s palsy patients with incomplete facial paralysis, and (d) clinicians should reassess or refer to a facial nerve specialist those Bell’s palsy patients with (1) new or worsening neurologic findings at any point, (2) ocular symptoms developing at any point, or (3) incomplete facial recovery 3 months after initial symptom onset. The development group provided the following options: (a) clinicians may offer oral antiviral therapy in addition to oral steroids within 72 hours of symptom onset for patients with Bell’s palsy, and (b) clinicians may offer electrodiagnostic testing to Bell’s palsy patients with complete facial paralysis. The development group offered the following no recommendations: (a) no recommendation can be made regarding surgical decompression for patients with Bell’s palsy, (b) no recommendation can be made regarding the effect of acupuncture in patients with Bell’s palsy, and (c) no recommendation can be made regarding the effect of physical therapy in patients with Bell’s palsy.

Not just another face in the crowd: society's perceptions of facial paralysis.

There is a paucity of data showing the perception penalty caused by facial paralysis. Our objective was to measure societys perception of facial paralysis on the characteristic of beauty. We hypothesized that patients with paralysis would be considered by society as less attractive than normals, a difference amplified by smiling.

Measuring attentional bias to peripheral facial deformities

Introduce a novel method for objectively evaluating attentional bias to peripheral facial deformities using an established metric of attention.

Minimally Invasive Temporalis Tendon Transposition

OBJECTIVE To describe a minimally invasive approach of the temporalis tendon transposition technique for dynamic reanimation in patients with long-standing facial paralysis. METHODS We report a case series of 17 consecutive patients with facial paralysis who underwent minimally invasive temporalis tendon transposition surgery for dynamic facial reanimation between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2008. The minimally invasive technique is described. Preoperative and postoperative records, photographs, and videos were reviewed for feasibility of the technique, symmetry, oral competence, and dynamic oral commissure movement. RESULTS All the patients tolerated the procedure well, and none developed procedure-related complications. All the patients achieved improved symmetry at rest and voluntary motion of the oral commissure. In all the patients, the temporalis tendon was transposed to the modiolus without the need for fascial extension or lengthening myoplasty. CONCLUSIONS The temporalis tendon can be transposed for immediate dynamic reanimation of the paralyzed lower face using a minimally invasive approach. This procedure involves a single small incision and minimal dissection, with no major osteotomies. Acquisition of desired facial movement requires intensive physiotherapy and a motivated patient.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder in a Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Clinic: Measuring Prevalence, Assessing Comorbidities, and Validating a Feasible Screening Instrument

IMPORTANCE Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is underrecognized and underdetected among patients undergoing facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. Patients with BDD require psychiatric care, not cosmetic surgery. OBJECTIVES To measure the prevalence of BDD in a facial plastic and reconstructive surgery clinic, to validate the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire (BDDQ) in that setting, to assess the feasibility of implementing a standardized process for identifying patients with BDD accurately in a busy clinical practice, and to assess the comorbidity of BDD, depression, and anxiety in our patient population. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We performed a prospective prevalence and instrument validation study in an academic facial plastic and reconstructive surgery clinic. We included 234 consecutive patients 18 years or older presenting to the clinic from March 3 to June 30, 2014. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Prevalence of BDD as determined by the BDDQ and the criterion-standard BDD Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (BDD SCID). The BDD SCID and a defect severity scale were used to confirm the BDD diagnosis and to validate the BDDQ finding. We also assessed demographic characteristics, depression, and anxiety in all patients. RESULTS As confirmed by the BDD SCID, 13.1% of patients undergoing cosmetic surgery and 1.8% of those undergoing reconstructive surgery had BDD. We found the BDDQ to be an accurate (91.7%), sensitive (100%), and specific (90.3%) screening instrument for BDD. Patients with a positive BDD finding were most commonly concerned with their nose (10 of 18 [56%]), skin (5 of 18 [28%]), hair (1 of 18 [6%]), chin (1 of 18 [6%]), and ears (1 of 18 [6%]), that is, areas commonly addressed by facial plastic surgeons. Furthermore, compared with patients who did not have BDD, patients with BDD had elevated depression scores (mean [SD], 12.6 [10.8] vs 3.2 [4.2]). In the non-BDD population, mean (SD) state and trait anxiety scores resembled the norm (30.0 [7.7] and 30.3 [7.7], respectively, for men; 31.7 [10.0] and 32.1 [8.7], respectively, for women); in the BDD population, these scores were elevated (53.8 [23.4] and 50.4 [19.5], respectively, for men; 47.8 [12.7] and 49.0 [11.6], respectively, for women). Depression and anxiety scores were highly correlated in patients with BDD (r = 0.84 for patients with a BDDQ-positive screen result; r = 0.94 for patients with a positive BDD SCID finding) compared with those who did not have BDD (r = 0.51). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Patients with BDD often seek cosmetic treatment. Given the documented risks and harms of surgery for patients with BDD, a systematic process for identifying such patients who seek cosmetic surgery is imperative. We found a BDD screening instrument (BDDQ) followed by the BDD SCID for patients with a BDDQ-positive screen result to be a feasible and effective way to identify patients with BDD. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE NA.

What faces reveal: Impaired affect display in facial paralysis

To evaluate affect display in patients with facial paralysis as compared with normal subjects. We hypothesized that patients with facial paralysis would have impaired affect display and be perceived as displaying a negative affect as compared with normal subjects.

Clinical Communities at Johns Hopkins Medicine: An Emerging Approach to Quality Improvement

BACKGROUND Clinical communities are an emerging approach to quality improvement (QI) to which several large-scale projects have attributed some success. In 2011 the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality established clinical communities as a core strategy to connect frontline providers from six different hospitals to improve quality of care, patient safety, and value across the health system. CLINICAL COMMUNITIES: Fourteen clinical communities that presented great opportunity for improvement were established. A community could focus on a clinical area, a patient population, a group, a process, a safety-related issue, or nearly any health care issue. The collaborative spirit of the communities embraced interdisciplinary membership and representation from each hospital in each community. Communities engaged in team-building activities and facilitated discussions, met monthly, and were encouraged to meet in person to develop relationships and build trust. After a community was established, patients and families were invited to join and share their perspectives and experiences. ENABLING STRUCTURES: The clinical community structure provided clinicians access to resources, such as technical experts and safety and QI researchers, that were not easily otherwise accessible or available. Communities convened clinicians from each hospital to consider safety problems and their resolution and share learning with workplace peers and local unit safety teams. CONCLUSION The clinical communities engaged 195 clinicians from across the health system in QI projects and peer learning. Challenges included limited financial support and time for clinicians, timely access to data, limited resources from the health system, and not enough time with improvement experts.

Changing perception: facial reanimation surgery improves attractiveness and decreases negative facial perception.

Determine the effect of facial reanimation surgery on observer‐graded attractiveness and negative facial perception of patients with facial paralysis.

How facial lesions impact attractiveness and perception: Differential effects of size and location

To determine the effect of facial lesion size and location on perceptions of attractiveness and importance for repair. We hypothesized that attractiveness scores and importance for repair would be dependent on lesion size and location.

Does Nasal Surgery Improve OSA in Patients with Nasal Obstruction and OSA? A Meta-analysis

Objective To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine if isolated nasal surgery in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and nasal airway obstruction improves obstructive sleep apnea. Data Sources Computerized searches were performed in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library through October 2014. Manual searches and subject matter expert input was also solicited. Review Methods A search protocol was defined a priori, and 2 independent investigators performed the data extraction, focusing on relevant data, including quality data polysomnography data, and taking note of methodological quality and risk for bias. Results The 10 studies meeting criteria included a total of 320 patients. There were 2 randomized controlled trials, 7 prospective studies, and 1 retrospective study. There was a significant improvement in the pooled results of both Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS; difference 3.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.64, 6.23]) and Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI; 11.06, 95% CI [5.92, 16.19]) scores with isolated nasal surgery. There was no significant improvement in the Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI) in the random effects model (4.83, 95% CI [–1.6, 11.62]). Conclusions The pooled results showed that isolated nasal surgery for patients with nasal obstruction and obstructive sleep apnea improved some sleep parameters, as shown by significant improvements in ESS and RDI, but had no significant improvements on AHI. Future controlled studies with larger groups are needed to confirm the benefits of isolated nasal surgery in this patient population.