Impact of Facial Paralysis on Patients With Acoustic Neuroma

Abstract

Clinicians must be aware of the distress felt by some patients experiencing facial palsy after acoustic neuroma surgery and that the level of distress may not be related to the clinical grade of the facial nerve paralysis. People with low self-esteem, young people, and women suffer from more distress due to the facial palsy. Clinicians should thoroughly counsel patients before and after surgery and should implement measures that increase patients' self-esteem and decrease their distress, especially in these high-risk groups.