Re-animation of the Paralyzed Face

Abstract

This 367-page work is divided into four parts: (1) Mechanism of Facial Expression and Pathophysiology of Degeneration; (2) Etiology of Disruption of the Facial Neuromuscular Motor Unit; (3) Contemporary Concepts in Free Nerve and Muscle Grafting; (4) Re-animation of the Paralyzed Face. The contributors include otolaryngologists, plastic surgeons, a neurologist, a neurosurgeon, a neuropathologist, and a physical medicine specialist. The organization is such that the reader is taken through anatomy and pathophysiology of the various types of facial paralysis, and then an excellent section on the basic science of nerve and muscle grafting leads into the practical section that deals with reanimation procedures. This third section, itself, is well worth the purchase price of the book. The reanimation procedures are subdivided into the following categories: immediate treatment (this includes a neurologist's chapter on medical treatment for Bell's palsy and an otolaryngologist's concepts with regard to surgical treatment for this disease);