Supercharged massetric‐facial cross‐graft for gracilis reinnervation in unilateral facial palsy treatment

Neurological manifestations of hypothyroidism include peripheral neuropathy and pituitary hyperplasia. However, these associations are rarely encountered during pregnancy. We report a case of a known hypothyroid with very high thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) values (512 μIU/mL) in the second trimester. At 24 weeks she developed facial palsy and pituitary hyperplasia which responded to a combination of steroids and thyroxine. She had caesarean delivery at 35 weeks and 3 days gestation in view of pre-eclampsia with severe features and was discharged on oral antihypertensives and thyroxine. On follow-up at 5 months, TSH normalised and pituitary hyperplasia showed a greater than 50% reduction in size. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of facial palsy and pituitary hyperplasia associated with hypothyroidism during pregnancy.

Facial nerve aplasia is an extremely rare condition that is usually syndromic, namely, in Moebius syndrome. The occurrence of isolated agenesis of facial nerve is even rarer, with only few cases reported in the literature. We report a case of congenital facial paralysis due to facial nerve aplasia diagnosed on MRI, while no noticeable abnormality was detected on the temporal bone CT.