PURPOSE: To correlate the self-evaluation of patients with facial paralysis regarding their facial condition, the level of sequelae discomfort and the negative consequences in daily activities, with the results found in clinical assessment. METHODS: Twenty-nine subjects of both genders, with average age of 46 years and an average of 5.9 therapy sessions participated in this study. A clinical evaluation of facial symmetry and movement was carried out, verifying the presence of synkinesis and contractures using a facial grading system proposed by a standardized and published instrument. Moreover, an interview with closed questions was carried out, in order to measure the patient's opinion regarding how his own face influences his professional and social activities. RESULTS: There was an accordance regarding the patient's self evaluation and the clinical assessment (p=0,0029), but this correlation was not found in patients with less than three sessions of the speech therapy. No significant correlation was found between the degree of synkinesis/contracture and the level of discomfort reported by the patient. Furthermore, the negative consequences in professional and social activities were not associated to the degree of facial paralysis, synkinesis or contracture. However, there was a weak correlation tending to significance (r=-0,3250/p=0,085) when the self evaluation was compared to the reported negative consequences. CONCLUSIONS: The patient's self perception of the facial condition is not always in agreement with the professional's assessment, although this agreement increases in patients with longer intervention periods. On the other hand, the impact of the facial condition in the patient's life does not depend on the degree of sequelae.
Facial paralysis; Synkinesis; Contracture; Psychosocial impact; Interpessoal relations; Quality of life; Sickness impact profile; Self assessment
