Topognostic and prognostic evaluation of traumatic facial nerve injuries

If and when to intervene during the course of a traumatic facial palsy depends on the immediacy of the palsy, signs and symptoms of an associated temporal bone fracture, function of the various facial branches, and the results of electrical stimulation. Some facial nerve tests will be more valuable than others in a given case. The following is a philosophy of management that has proven useful to the author in the management of facial palsies of traumatic causes.