A Rare Case of an Isolated Facial Nerve Aplasia: Radiological Findings

Ola Messaoud; Kenza Horache; Amine Cherraqi; Fikri Meriem; Jiddane Mohamed; Touarsa Firdaous

doi:10.1177/2333794X231208365

A Rare Case of an Isolated Facial Nerve Aplasia: Radiological Findings

Glob Pediatr Health. 2023 Nov 12:10:2333794X231208365. doi: 10.1177/2333794X231208365. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Ola Messaoud¹, Kenza Horache¹, Amine Cherraqi¹, Fikri Meriem¹, Jiddane Mohamed¹, Touarsa Firdaous¹

Affiliation

¹ The Rabat Speciality Hospital IBN SINA (HSR), Rabat, Morocco.

Abstract

Congenital facial palsy is a rare condition that can be categorized into traumatic and developmental etiologies. Trauma related congenital facial palsy represents by far the most frequent cause with a spontaneous complete recovery within weeks, contrary to developmental causes that can be syndromic or non-syndromic, and have a poor prognosis. We present the case of an 11-month-old boy who suffers a congenital facial palsy. He undergoes an MRI examination with the adapted sequences to assess the facial nerve, and a high-resolution CT scan that reveals a seventh cranial nerve agenesis.

Keywords: 7th cranial nerve agenesis; MRI protocol; congenital facial palsy.

Publication types

Case Reports