Facial Paralysis

Facial paralysis is a complex condition that may result in minor facial disfigurement to severe asymmetry. The ideal evaluation of facial paralysis must be convenient for clinical use, include static and dynamic measures, evaluate synkinesis, and must be reproducible with low inter- and intra- observer variability. Several systems have met these criteria to assess different aspects of symmetry and synkinesis in both static and dynamic motion. However, most require significant clinical expertise, have inherent subjectivity, and use static images for analysis. In this study we sought to address an important clinical dilemma that providers face when comparing measured outcomes from different paralysis centers. We hypothesize that a facial landmarks-based assessment system will more accurately, and reproducibly, measure the degree and severity of paralysis than other measurement or expert systems.