A CASE-REPORT OF FACIAL-NERVE PALSY ASSOCIATED WITH CHICKENPOX

We examined a very unusual patient who developed peripheral facial pal sy with chickenpox. A survey of the English literature revealed that e ight such patients had been reported, but the period between the appea rance of the vesicles of varicella and the facial nerve palsy ranged f rom five days before to 16 days after the eruption development. We pre sume that the route of infection was neurogenous in patients who had p alsy after the appearance of the eruptions, but haematogenous in patie nts who had palsy before the appearance of vesicles. The two patients whose infection route was presumed to be haematogenous, had a poor pro gnosis.