Abstract
The usefulness of postoperative rehabilitation was evaluated for patients undergoing surgical treatment using the facial nerve on the healthy side as a motor source. The rehabilitation regimen consisted of self-training. The purpose of rehabilitation is to increase muscle contractility and eliminate the pathological synkinesis. Patients treated by vascularized muscle transplantation showed progressive improvement of muscle contractility for more than 3 years postoperatively and became able to move the transplanted muscle without accompanying action of the face on the healthy side. However, patients treated by cross-face nerve grafting could not get rid of the pathological synkinesis that caused involuntary simultaneous eye closure when smiling. It seemed that the relation between the dividing point of the nerve branches and nerve suture site would influence the efficacy of rehabilitation. It is recommended that patients continue self-training of the muscle at least for more than three years, because muscle contractility retains the ability to recover for a rather long time.
