A prospective 4 year study of the objective and subjective outcomes of 15 patients after dynamic facial reanimation surgery.

Facial nerve palsy is a debilitating and life changing event which significantly affects quality of life. This prospective study evaluates outcomes in 15 patients undergoing dynamic facial reanimation surgery using a modification of the minimally invasive temporalis tendon transposition technique (MIT3) coupled with either static reanimation techniques or synergistic inter-positional/facial-hypoglossal nerve reconstruction techniques. All patients demonstrated significant improvement both objectively and subjectively as measured by the SMILE system and FaCE scale respectively. The MIT3 technique can be used successfully for dynamic reanimation and allows for other techniques to be simultaneously tailored around it. It provides improved functional and quality of life outcomes in patients and affords low morbidity.