Facial nerve palsy
Adult

Useful Management Information

  • Medical management
    • Oral steroids Prednis(ol)one 1mg/kg daily (for up to 75mg) daily for 5 days
    • Consider oral anti virals if indicative of Ramsay Hunt syndrome
    • Eye protection if corneal abrasion e.g., Lacrilube and tape eye shut nocte
    • Consider speech pathology assessment if speech and/or swallowing affected
    • Arrange diagnostic audiological assessment
    • If facial palsy with otalgia and/or otorrhoea, consider fine cut/slice CT scan of temporal bone to rule out cholesteatoma

Minimum Referral Criteria

Does your patient meet the minimum referral criteria?
Category 1 (appointment within 30 calendar days)
  • Lower motor neuron palsy and any of the following:
    • hearing loss
    • suspected involvement of other cranial nerve
  • Otalgia and/or otorrhoea
  • Vesicles in tympanic membrane and otalgia and/or otorrhoea
  • Perineural spread from cutaneous SCC with or without sensory changes e.g., tingling, numbness, formication
Category 2 (appointment within 90 calendar days)
  • No category 2 criteria
Category 3 (appointment within 365 calendar days)
  • No category 3 criteria

Essential Referral Information

  • Neurology/neurosurgery history
  • Details of previous treatment (including systemic and topical medications prescribed) including the course and outcome of the treatment
  • Diagnostic audiology assessment (where available and not cause significant delay)

Additional Referral Information

  • Fine cut/slice CT scan with contrast of temporal bone
Last updated 14 February 2024

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If you would like to send a named referral, please address it to the specialist listed above, who will allocate a suitably qualified specialist to see the patient. Alternatively, you can view a full list of our specialists.

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