Intratympanic Stereoidal Injections for Facial Nerve Palsy
Intratympanic Stereoidal Injections for Facial Nerve Palsy
Bell's palsy is defined as a facial nerve palsy without any other known cause. The common
 practice for this disease consists of the use of oral steroids. Such treatment can cause harm
 to people who have disabilities or prior conditions such as pregnancies, diabetes, obesity
 and/or high blood pressure. While the use of intratympanic injection for sudden sensory
 hearing loss is well rehearsed in many practices, similar management of facial nerve palsy
 due to Bell's phenomenon is rare and a few researches have been conducted regarding the
 subject. In this research we suggest intratympanic injections for these patients as a
 treatment for Bell's palsy.
Bell's palsy is defined as a facial nerve paralysis without any other known diagnosis or
 cause .Its' estimated occurrence is in 20 to 30 people per 100,000 people per year. The
 occurence is greater in patients older than 65 years old and lower in children younger than
 13 years old. There are many estimated etiologies for Bell's palsy, such as failure of the
 vasa nervosa, viral infections, ischemic neuropathies and auto immune reactions. Of those,
 viral hypothesis is the most widely accepted.

 The prognosis for recovery for most patients is 80% to 90%. One series showed that only 17
 out of 1505 patients demonstrated moderate to severe sequela and none had complete facial
 nerve paralysis. The common practice for the management of Bell's palsy consists of oral
 steroids with or without the antiviral medications. A recent study made by the Department of
 Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck surgery in Korea indicated that Intratympanic
 injections could replace the use of oral steroids . Another recent study by Jong job lee et
 al. has shown that Intratympanic injections have prolonged uptake in rats, in comparison to
 Intraperitoneal injections.
Inclusion Criteria:

 Adult patients 18 years old or more, diagnosed with Bell's palsy who cannot receive oral
 steroid treatment for their condition, due to to pregnancy, diabetes, high blood pressure
 etc.

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Children under the age of 18.

 -  Patients who can receive oral steroid treatment for their condition.

 -  Patients with internal ear problems. * Patients who already recieved treatmetn for
 their condition.