Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Feb 23;12(3):565.
doi: 10.3390/diagnostics12030565.

Kabat Rehabilitation in Facial Nerve Palsy after Parotid Gland Tumor Surgery: A Case-Control Study

Ciro Emiliano Boschetti  1 , Giorgio Lo Giudice  2 , Chiara Spuntarelli  1 , Carmine Apice  3 , Raffaele Rauso  1 , Mario Santagata  1 , Gianpaolo Tartaro  1 , Giuseppe Colella  1
Affiliations

Kabat Rehabilitation in Facial Nerve Palsy after Parotid Gland Tumor Surgery: A Case-Control Study

Ciro Emiliano Boschetti et al. Diagnostics (Basel). .

Abstract

Temporary facial nerve palsy after parotid tumor surgery ranges from 14 to 65%, depending on surgery, tumor type, and subsite. The study aimed to evaluate the role of Kabat physical rehabilitation in the outcomes of patients affected by severe facial nerve palsy following parotid gland surgery. The results and clinical data of two groups, Kabat and non-Kabat (control), were statistically compared. Descriptive statistics, the multiple linear regression model, difference in difference approach, and the generalized linear model were used. F-Test, Chi-square test, McFadden R-squared, and adjusted R-squared were used to assess the significance. The results showed that the House-Brackmann (HB) stage of patients who had physiotherapy performed were lower than the control group. The decrease of HB staging in the Kabat group at 3 months was -0.71 on average, thus the probability of having a high HB stage decreased by about 13% using Kabat therapy. The results are statistically significant, and indicated that when the Kabat rehabilitation protocol is performed, mainly in the cases of a high-grade HB score, the patients showed a better and faster improvement in postoperative facial nerve palsy.

Keywords: FNP; Kabat; facial nerve palsy; facial nerve paralysis; salivary gland surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Graphical representation of the collected data.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Graphical representation of the relation between age and HB score of the entire cohort of patients.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Profiles of patients at different ages using and not using Kabat therapy.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Patient 1. Clinical assessment of postoperative facial nerve palsy 7 days after surgery (upper row). Three month follow-up after Kabat therapy (lower row).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Patient 2. Postoperative facial nerve palsy 7 days after surgery (upper row) with noticeable right eye lagophthalmos. At the 3 month follow-up after Kabat therapy, right eye lagophthalmos was resolved (lower row).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Haring C.T., Ellsperman S.E., Edwards B.M., Kileny P., Kovatch D., Mannarelli G.R., Meloch M.A., Miller C., Pitts C., Prince M.E.P., et al. Assessment of Intraoperative Nerve Monitoring Parameters Associated With Facial Nerve Outcome in Parotidectomy for Benign Disease. JAMA Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg. 2019;145:1137–1143. doi: 10.1001/jamaoto.2019.1041. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eren S.B., Dogan R., Ozturan O., Veyseller B., Hafiz A.M. How Deleterious Is Facial Nerve Dissection for the Facial Nerve in Parotid Surgery: An Electrophysiological Evaluation. J. Craniofac. Surg. 2017;28:56–60. doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000003186. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Jin H., Kim B.Y., Kim H., Lee E., Park W., Choi S., Chung M.K., Son Y.I., Baek C.H., Jeong H.S. Incidence of postoperative facial weakness in parotid tumor surgery: A tumor subsite analysis of 794 parotidectomies. BMC Surg. 2019;19:199. doi: 10.1186/s12893-019-0666-6. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bogart K.R. Socioemotional functioning with facial paralysis: Is there a congenital or acquired advantage? Health Psychol. 2020;39:345–354. doi: 10.1037/hea0000838. - DOI - PubMed
    1. House J.W., Brackmann D.E. Facial nerve grading system. Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg. 1985;93:146–147. doi: 10.1177/019459988509300202. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources