A Case of Bilateral Simultaneous Bell’s Palsy

J Korean Assoc EMG Electrodiagn Med 2006;8(2):149-152.
Published online May 10, 2006.

Abstract

Bilateral simultaneous facial palsy is an extremely rare clinical entity. In contrast to unilateral facial palsy which on many occasions is of unknown cause, bilateral facial nerve palsy is usually recognized as a part of various systemic diseases which are often life-threatening disorders such as congenital, infectious, neoplastic, traumatic or degenerative diseases. Bilateral facial palsy seldom falls into Bell’s category. Thorough diagnostic workup should be done in the differential diagnosis of bilateral simultaneous facial nerve palsy because bilateral facial palsy may occur in association with a serious underlying medical condition or a medical emergency. Here we report a 44-year-old man with bilateral simultaneous Bell’s palsy. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of bilateral simultaneous Bell’s palsy in Korea.

Key Words: Bilateral facial palsy, Bell’s palsy

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