Bell's palsy: Results of surgery; salivation test versus nerve excitability test as a basis of treatment

One hundred fifty‐seven consecutive patients with Bell's palsy were evaluated between 1966 and 1971. In order to obtain a more homogenous group, the subjects were carefully screened by eliminating those with recurrent palsy, those not tested for both nerve excitability and salivary flow, those not followed until there was 100 percent return of function or for a period of 180 days, and those who were first evaluated beyond 10 days following onset of palsy. Applying these criteria, 76 patients were eliminated leaving 81 patients with Bell's palsy who were studied to evaluate the usefulness of the salivation and nerve excitability tests for selecting patients for surgery. Fifty‐four received no treatment while 22 were operated upon and five were treated with steroids.