Smile Reanimation after Unilateral Facial Palsy by Lengthening Temporalis Myoplasty: Objective and Subjective Evaluation on 25 Cases.

BACKGROUND: Comparison of functional results of lengthening temporalis myoplasty relies in current practice on subjective scales. The goal of this study was to define a simple, reproducible, objective scale validated through a comparison with a subjective scale for smile symmetrization results after temporal muscle myoplasty.

METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 25 patients having a unilateral facial palsy and rehabilitated with lengthening temporalis myoplasty. Evaluation consisted of objective measures: smile horizontal symmetry between left and right sides, vertical symmetry, and smile width on healthy and paretic sides on preoperative and postoperative photographs. Subjective scales were also used (i.e., a numeric scale and the Terzis and Noah scale) by a jury (four professionals and four nonprofessionals) and the patient himself or herself. Each evaluation was performed in three conditions: at rest, at intermediary smile, and at maximum smile.

RESULTS: Comparison of objective measures on the impaired side showed a postoperative improvement in the three conditions evaluation. Reproducibility of the numeric scale was weak for evaluation at rest and fair for maximum smile evaluation (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.57). The Terzis and Noah scale was not reproducible from one observer to another. At maximum smile, a correlation between smile symmetry in the vertical plane, smile symmetry in the horizontal plane, and professional evaluation with the numeric scale on the one hand and global patient satisfaction on the other hand was observed.

CONCLUSION: Postoperative smile horizontal symmetry between left and right sides, and smile vertical symmetry, are good indicators with which to assess postoperative results of facial palsy rehabilitation.