Facial nerve paralysis in chronic suppurative otitis media: Ankara Numune hospital experience

Although the incidence of facial nerve paralysis (FNP) decreased with the use of contemporary diagnostic tools and the advent of antibiotics, it is still a challenging problem. In this retrospective study, the charts of 1188 patients with chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), treated between 1988 and 1996 in the First ENT Clinic of Ankara Numune Hospital, Turkey, were analysed to establish the pre-operative incidence of FNP in CSOM. There were 20 (1.7%) patients with FNP secondary to CSOM. Of these, 14 (70%) had cholesteatoma. There was a defect on the fallopian canal in 14 patients (70%) and it was most commonly located on the tympanic segment of the canal (35.7%). Paralysis was incomplete in all patients. A total of 14 patients had ear drainage more than 3 years. FNP was associated with vertigo in three patients (15%) and tinnitus in one patient (5%).