Spastic paretic facial contracture

Abstract

(1) The cases of 3 patients with intrinsic gliomas of the brain stem who had the rare sign of unilateral spastic paretic facial contracture are presented. (2) This contracture is chronic and persistent and is therefore unlike hemifacial spasm. (3) The lack of associated facial movements distinguishes this entity from the contracture following Bell''s palsy. (4) Damage to the seventh cranial nerve nucleus and its connections would seem to be responsible for this clinical sign. (5) Spastic facial contracture has not, to our knowledge, been reported as a sign of cerebellopontine angle tumor. (6) When present, this sign helps to differentiate intrinsic pontine neoplasms from extrinsic cerebellopontine angle tumors.