Acupuncture Treatment for a Patient with Facial Nerve Paralysis Due to the Operation of Benign Parotid Gland Tumor

Keizo Ebiko; Takashi Ito; Kumiko Takata; Taro Sugimoto; Taro Fujikawa; Yutaro Koyama

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Acupuncture Treatment for a Patient with Facial Nerve Paralysis Due to the Operation of Benign Parotid Gland Tumor

VernacularTitle:良性耳下腺腫瘍術後の顔面神経麻痺に対する鍼治療の1症例
Author: Keizo EBIKO ¹ ; Takashi ITO ¹ ; Kumiko TAKATA ¹ ; Taro SUGIMOTO ² ; Taro FUJIKAWA ³ ; Yutaro KOYAMA ⁴
Author Information

1. Institute of Oriental Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University, School of Medicine
2. Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery and, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center Komagome Hospital
3. Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University
4. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University
Keywords: benign parotid gland tumor; postoperative facial nerve paralysis; cutting of buccal branch of facial nerve; scar tissue formation; acupuncture treatment
From:Kampo Medicine 2020;71(1):58-65
CountryJapan
Language:Japanese
Abstract: The patient was a 44-year-old man with right facial paralysis as the main complaint. Upon resection of a benign parotid gland tumor (6 cm in diameter), one of the buccal branches of the right facial nerve was severed. Immediately after the surgery, facial nerve paralysis occurred in the areas innervated by the buccal and marginal mandibular branches. Therefore, on the 5th day after the surgery, acupuncture was started. The paralyzed facial site was treated weekly for 15 minutes by inserting a disposable acupuncture needle (40 mm in length and 0.16 mm in thickness) about 5 mm deep into the site. As a result, the discomfort around the right ear was alleviated and the right facial nerve paralysis was gradually improved and cured in 6 months after the onset. Acupuncture may have prevented secondary changes such as tissue scarring and atrophy after the surgery, and promoted healing. The paralysis of the areas innervated by the buccal branches may have been improved through rerooting from the other branches in the periphery region of the neurectomy site. The present case is informative in considering the indications of acupuncture.