Seventh cranial nerve palsy due to birth trauma

The most common form of facial nerve palsy due to birth trauma involves only the lower part of the facial nerve. This part controls the muscles around the lips. The muscle weakness is mainly noticeable when the infant cries.

The newborn infant may have the following symptoms:

• Eyelid may not close on affected side
• Lower face (below eyes) appears uneven during crying
• Mouth does not move down the same way on both sides while crying
• No movement (paralysis) on the affected side of the face (from the forehead to the chin in severe cases)

A physical exam is usually all that is needed to diagnose this condition. Rarely, a nerve conduction study is needed. Such a test can pinpoint the exact location of the nerve injury.

Brain imaging tests are not needed unless the health care provider suspects another problem (such as a tumor or stroke).

Review Date: 07/10/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, and Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)