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
. 2023 Sep-Oct;25(5):378-383.
doi: 10.1089/fpsam.2022.0207. Epub 2022 Sep 6.

Chemodenervation of the Posterior Belly of the Digastric Muscle in Facial Synkinesis

Elizabeth S Longino  1 , Seth J Davis  1 , Kelly C Landeen  1 , Kyle S Kimura  1 , Rahul K Sharma  1 , Alexandra S Ortiz  1 , Shiayin F Yang  1 , Priyesh N Patel  1 , Scott J Stephan  1
Affiliations

Chemodenervation of the Posterior Belly of the Digastric Muscle in Facial Synkinesis

Elizabeth S Longino et al. Facial Plast Surg Aesthet Med. 2023 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Background: Patients with facial synkinesis may have jaw tightness and swallow discomfort despite chemodenervation of facial mimetic musculature, and the posterior belly of the digastric (PBD) muscle is a logical target to treat these symptoms. Learning/Study Objective: To compare patient-reported outcomes of botulinum toxin (BT) chemodenervation of the posterior belly of digastric muscle in patients with postparalytic facial synkinesis. Design Type: Retrospective review. Methods: Patients with facial synkinesis who underwent electromyography (EMG)-guided PBD BT chemodenervation in addition to their baseline therapeutic regimen were included. Pre- and post-treatment Synkinesis Assessment Questionnaires (SAQ) and a two-question survey regarding jaw tightness and swallow discomfort were administered. Results: Twenty-nine patients were included. An average of 5 U of BT-A was injected into the PBD, and 46.5 U across all facial muscles. From pre- to post-injection, patients demonstrated improvement in jaw tightness at rest (3.02 vs. 1.98/5.0, p < 0.001), with swallow (2.78 vs. 1.94/5.0, p < 0.001), and total SAQ (64.3 vs. 51.2/100, p < 0.001). Patients rated subjective benefit from PBD injection compared with prior treatments without PBD injection as 4.5/5.0. Conclusion: Synkinesis patients with jaw tightness or swallow discomfort may benefit from the addition of PBD injections to the therapeutic regimen.

PubMed Disclaimer