A study of facial nerve grading system

Abstract

Woo-Shin Ko Background and Objective : The facial nerve grading system proposed by House and Brackma nn is most widely accepted for the clinical assessment of facial nerve inj ury. Because of the limitations and subjectivity of the House-Brackmann scale, several new scales of varying degree s of objectivity and ease of use have been introduced. To assess methods of evaluating the function of the facial ne rve that have been introduced over the past 20 years, We compared with the House-Brackmann scale. Method : We referred to the information through Entrez Pubmed and Kore an studies information(KSI) from 1985 to 2006 about methods of evaluating facial nerve function. We choose 7 scales that focused on objective and easy of use. Result and conclusion : Sunnybrook scale is a weighted, subjective scale with incorpo ration of secondary defects into a single composite score. Sunnybrook scale can be recommended over House-Brackmann scale.Key word : Facial nerve function, Facial nerve grading, House-Brackmann grading scale, Yanagihara scale, FEMA scale, Sunnybrook scale, Nottingham system.