Is there an ideal outcome scoring system for facial reanimation surgery? A review of current methods and suggestions for future publications.

Facial reanimation is the surgical process of attempting to restore dynamic, spontaneous symmetry to the paralysed face. We undertook to review the most frequently used scoring systems and discuss a universal set of assessments which every facial palsy surgeon can use to standardize the outcome of surgical intervention and allow a comparison to be drawn when comparing different operative techniques. A literature review was performed using PubMed and Cochrane databases to identify scoring systems for facial palsy, facial nerve regeneration and facial reanimation. The scoring systems were broken down into the following broad categories: observational, mathematical and computer-graphical measurements. More than 20 scoring systems were identified and included in the study. The scoring systems were analysed and assessed for reproducibility and inter-observer reliability. The current trend in the literature is to use the House-Brackmann Score due to its historical longevity, brevity and ease of understanding. However, this was never designed to assess outcomes of facial reanimation and there are clear limitations. Other more appropriate methods such as 3-D facial analysis are prohibitively expensive to widely implement. The quest continues to develop an ideal system. From this review it is clear that a quick, simple to use system should be used which incorporates the patient's own views. Therefore a combination of pre- and post-operative photographs of the patient should be assessed by an independent panel as well as the patient. We propose a universal set of photographs that can be used to standardize the outcome of surgical intervention when publishing results in the literature. This will allow a comparison to be drawn when comparing different operative techniques and help surgeons work collectively towards the same goal while improving patient outcomes.