Results of facial nerve decompression.

To evaluate the benefit of facial nerve decompression for Bell's palsy and Hunt's syndrome, prognoses of patients who underwent surgery were compared with those of patients treated conservatively. Facial nerve decompression was slightly effective only in the Bell's palsy patients having 95-100% maximal nerve degeneration, when it was performed at a very early stage of the palsy. No significant difference in the incidence of sequelae was observed between surgically and conservatively treated groups. In Hunt's syndrome, the prognosis for the surgical group was poorer than that of the conservatively treated group.