Rationale for the Development of a Novel Clinical Grading Scale for Postoperative Facial Nerve Function: Results of a Multidisciplinary International Working Group

Matthew L. Carlson, Christine M. Lohse, Siviero Agazzi, Seilesh C. Babu, Frederick G. Barker, Samuel Barnett, Wenya Linda Bi, Nigel Biggs, Kofi D. Boahene, Joseph T. Breen, Kevin D. Brown, Per Cayé-Thomasen, Maura K. Cosetti, Nicholas L. Deep, Jacob K. Dey, James R. Dornhoffer, David Forner, Richard K. Gurgel, Marlan R. Hansen, Jacob B. HunterMichel Kalamarides, Irene A. Kim, Andrew T. King, Matthew L. Kircher, Luis Lassaletta, Michael J. Link, Simon K.W. Lloyd, Morten Lund-Johansen, John P. Marinelli, Cordula Matthies, Vikas Mehta, Eric J. Moore, Ashley M. Nassiri, Brian A. Neff, Rick F. Nelson, Jeffrey J. Olson, Neil S. Patel, Maria Peris Celda, Aaron R. Plitt, Daniel L. Price, J. Thomas Roland, Alex D. Sweeney, Kendall K. Tasche, Marcos Tatagiba, Oystein Tveiten, Jamie J. Van Gompel, Jeffrey T. Vrabec, George B. Wanna, Peter A. Weisskopf

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective The objective of the current study was to present the results of an international working group survey identifying perceived limitations of existing facial nerve grading scales to inform the development of a novel grading scale for assessing early postoperative facial paralysis that incorporates regional scoring and is anchored in recovery prognosis and risk of associated complications. Study Design Survey. Setting A working group of 48 multidisciplinary clinicians with expertise in skull base, cerebellopontine angle, temporal bone, or parotid gland surgery. Results House-Brackmann grade is the most widely used system to assess facial nerve function among working group members (81%), although more than half (54%) agreed that the system they currently use does not adequately estimate the risk of associated complications, such as corneal injury, and confidence in interrater and intrarater reliability is generally low. Simplicity was ranked as the most important attribute of a novel postoperative facial nerve grading system to increase the likelihood of adoption, followed by reliability and accuracy. There was widespread consensus (91%) that the eye is the most critical facial region to focus on in the early postoperative setting. Conclusions Members were invited to submit proposed grading systems in alignment with the objectives of the working group for subsequent validation. From these data, we plan to develop a simple, clinically anchored, and reproducible staging system with regional scoring for assessing early postoperative facial nerve function after surgery of the skull base, cerebellopontine angle, temporal bone, or parotid gland.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)E747-E754
JournalOtology and Neurotology
Volume44
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2023

Keywords

  • Acoustic neuroma
  • Facial nerve
  • Facial paralysis
  • Parotid
  • Parotidectomy
  • Skull base
  • Vestibular schwannoma

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Otorhinolaryngology
  • Sensory Systems
  • Clinical Neurology

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