• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.55-58
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• 2019

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of treatment with thread-embedding therapy for 24 patients with hemifacial spasm (HFS). The muscle spasm of these patients was treated with thread-embedding therapy. Patients with nuchal pain were treated with tendino-musculature acupuncture in the sternocleidomastoid, splenius, and trapezius muscles. We evaluated the treatment effect using the Scott's scale, where 20, 3, 1, and 0 patients presented Scott's grade 0, grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3, respectively. The grade of the spasm intensity decreased noticeably after treatment. The results revealed that the Scott's grade changed to 0 in 83.3% of HFS patients, and 91.7% patients felt satisfied with thread-embedding therapy. These findings suggested that thread-embedding therapy was effective and can be used widely for HFS.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.218-227
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• 2003

Objective : Hemifacial spasm is painless uncommon disorder characterized by involuntary paroxysmal movement of one side of face, In this study, the effect of Dong-Si acupuncture therapy for three patients with hemifacial spasm were evaluated. Methods : We have treated them with acupuncture treatment of Dong-Si acupuncture points(Cheuk-Samni and Cheuk-ha-Samni) and evaluated the effect by Scott's scale, For the first two weeks, it was dine once a day, and after two weeks, the other day. Results : Before therapy, the grades of spasm intensity classified by Scott's description in three cases were 3. And after Dong-Si acupuncture therapy, the grade of one case was 0, and two cases were 1. Conclusion : The Dong-Si acupuncture therapy for hemifacial spasm was effective and will be attempted to the patients with it.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.89-93
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• 1996

Hemifacial spasm commonly occurs in muscles about the eye, but may also involve or spread to the entire side of the face. One hundred and seventy eight patients with hemifacial spasm visited our Neuro-Pain clinic from January 1992 to April 1996. There were 121 female and 57 male patients, a 2.1:1 ratio respectively. Largest percentages of patients were in the 50 year old range. Among them, 96 patients were treated by facial nerve block or O'Brien block. In most cases, induced facial palsy disappeared within one or two months. Among the 96 patients who received nerve block, 46 patients received a second block within 5 to 24 months. The average interval from first and second nerve block was 11.5 months. After nerve block, all patients were free from spasm for 1 to 21 months. We conclude that facial nerve block is a satisfactory and reliable method for the treatment of facial spasm.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.265-270
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• 2006

Objective : Microvascular decompression[MVD] at root exit zone[REZ] of the facial nerve has been largely popularized and it has become the standard treatment for patients with hemifacial spasm[HFS]. This sturdy is performed to evaluate the efficacy of MVD over the course of time. Methods : From 1994 to 2003, 50 patients with HFS who underwent MVD were followed up for more than 6 months. We retrospectively analyzed results with medical records and telephone researches. Results : The mean age of patients at the time operation was 57.6 years and 84% of the patients were female. The mean duration of follow-up after operation was 3.4 years [range $0.5{\sim}7.8\;years$]. One day after MVD, 54% of patients had complete relief of spasm immediately. Continuous improvements of HFS were observed during the follow-up period and these improvements were statistically significant with time (P< 0.05). Until 6 months after operation, complete relief of spasm was observed in 84% of patients. The delayed relief of spasm was observed in 35.7% of our patients who experienced complete relief. Conclusion : The efficacy of MVD in HFS is improves with time. Continuous follow-up evaluations for the duration of more than at least 6 months after MVD are important for the decision of its clinical results because delayed relief of spasms occurs.

• The Journal of Dong Guk Oriental Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.69-79
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• 1999

Hemifacial spasm including blepharospasm is characterized by spontaneous clonic an d tonic muscle spasm on one side of the face with synkinesis. Though the etiology of hemifacial spasm is not entirely understood, generally there are two. One is nuclear hypothesis and the other is peripheral hypothesis. There are two ways of treatment of hemifacial spasm. One is internal medicine and the other is operative method. In oriental medicine, hemifacial spasm is very similar to diseases such as Anpojindo (眼胞振跳), Poryunjindo(胞輪振跳), or Aunido(眼眉跳) in symptoms. The diseases such as Anpojindo(眼胞振跳), Poryunjindo(胞輪振跳), Anmido(眼眉跳) is related to the function of liver(肝) and risk factors are regarded as Pung(風). The acupuncture therapy of hemifacial spasm is based on Liver meridian(LV), Gallbladder meridian(GB). And ear-acupuncture is recommended as a good method for hemifacial spasm.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.168-170
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• 2014

Dural arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is very rare, acquired lesion that may present with intracranial hemorrhage or neurological deficits. The etiology is not completely understood but dural AVF often has been associated with thrombosis of the involved dural sinuses. To our knowledge, this is the first well documented intracranial hemorrhage case caused by dural AVF following microvascular decompression for hemifacial spasm. A 49-year-old male patient had left microvascular decompression of anterior inferior cerebellar artery via retrosigmoid suboccipital craniotomy. The patient was in good condition without any residual spasm or surgery-related complications. However, after 10 months, he suffered sudden onset of amnesia and dysarthria. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed the presence of dural AVF around the left transverse-sigmoid sinus. The dural AVF was treated with Onyx$^{(R)}$ (ev3) embolization. At the one-year follow up visit, there were no evidence of recurrence and morbidity related to dural AVF and its treatment. This case confirms that the acquired etiology of dural AVF may be associated with retrosigmoid suboccipital craniotomy for hemifacial spasm, even though it is an extremely consequence of this procedure.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.130-138
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• 2018

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system characterized by optic neuritis and longitudinally extensive myelitis. Painful tonic spasm is a common complication of NMO, but there have been no reports about it in Korean medicine studies. In this case, we treated a 53-year-old woman diagnosed with NMO with paraplegia, painful tonic spasm, and decreased visual acuity using Korean medicine treatment, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, cupping, and moxibustion. We measured changes in clinical symptoms using the manual muscle testing (MMT), the numeric rating scale (NRS), the modified Barthel Index (MBI), and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). After treatment, clinical symptoms were improved. The results indicate that Korean medicine treatment may be effective in the treatment of an NMO patient with paraplegia and painful tonic spasm.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.221-224
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• 2015

Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a clinical syndrome characterized by unilateral facial nerve dysfunction. The usual cause involves vascular compression of the seventh cranial nerve, but compression by an artery passing through the facial nerve is very unusual. A 20-year-old man presented with left facial spasm that had persisted for 4 years. Compression of the left facial nerve root exit zone by the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) was revealed on magnetic resonance angiography. During microvascular decompression surgery, penetration of the distal portion of the facial nerve root exit zone by the AICA was observed. At the penetrating site, the artery was found to have compressed the facial nerve and to be immobilized. The penetrated seventh cranial nerve was longitudinally split about 2 mm. The compressing artery was moved away from the penetrating site and the decompression was secured by inserting Teflon at the operative site. Although the facial spasm disappeared in the immediate postoperative period, the patient continued to show moderate facial weakness. At postoperative 12 months, the facial weakness had improved to a mild degree. Prior to performing microvascular decompression of HFS, surgeons should be aware of a possibility for rare complex anatomy, such as compression by an artery passing through the facial nerve, which cannot be observed by modern imaging techniques.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.59-61
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• 2012

Although the mechanism of hemifacial spasm (HFS) is not yet well established, vascular compression of the facial nerve root exit zone and hyperexcitability of the facial nucleus have been suggested. We report a case of HFS in the setting of coinciding intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) of the pons and proximal ligation of the contralateral vertebral artery (VA) for the treatment of a fusiform aneurysm of the distal VA and discuss the possible etiologies of HFS in this patient. A 51-year-old male with an ICH of the pons was admitted to our hospital. Neuroimaging studies revealed an incidental fusiform aneurysm of the right VA distal to the origin of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery. Eight months after proximal ligation of the VA the patient presented with intermittent spasm of the left side of his face. Pre- and post-ligation magnetic resonance angiography revealed an enlarged diameter of the VA. The spasm completely disappeared after microvascular decompression.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.251-254
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• 1993

Hemifacial spasm is a distressing condition characterized by involuntary, intermittent, unilateral twitching of all or parts of the muscles innervated by the facial nerve. This occurrence is most common in middle-aged women. Because etiology of idiopathic hemifacial spasm has remained undefined, no causative agent nor reliable treatment has been established. This report describes a case of CT guided chemical facial nerve block for the treatment of hemifacial spasm. An injection of small amount(0.1 ml) of alcohol(95%) provided relief of the facial spasms.