Decompression of the facial nerve. A surgical emergency.

The chance of return of normal function in cases of facial paralysis is enhanced by early surgical decompression and repair of the facial nerve. Modern precision testing is of considerable aid in prognosis as well as diagnosis. Faradic testing and electromyography can offer relatively early information as to the possibility of permanent facial deformity. Now that microscopic surgical techniques have considerably facilitated operations on the facial nerve, early operation is the treatment of choice in such cases.