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The crucial role of imaging in detection of facial nerve haemangiomas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2006

Rami Salib
Affiliation:
The University Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Elia Tziambazis
Affiliation:
The University Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Ann-Louise McDermott
Affiliation:
The University Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Swarupsinh Chavda
Affiliation:
The University Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Richard Irving
Affiliation:
The University Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

Abstract

Facial nerve haemangioma is a rare benign neoplasm accounting for 0.7 per cent of all tumours involving the temporal bone. The diagnosis of a facial nerve tumour is often missed or delayed. Early diagnosis is imperative as it influences the eventual outcome for facial nerve function. Prognosis is related to the size of the tumour, the severity and the duration of pre-operative paralysis. The definitive diagnosis of a facial nerve tumour rests exclusively with high resolution imaging of the temporal bone using enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and thin-sectioned computed tomography (CT). This case emphasizes the crucial role that high quality imaging can play in the diagnosis of facial nerve tumours, and elegantly illustrates the imaging features of facial nerve haemangiomas.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Royal Society of Medicine Press Limited 2001

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