A Brand-New Technique in Facial Paralysis and Surgical Treatment at Dr. Karaaltın's Clinic
Dr. Mehmet Veli Karaaltın, founder of Dr. Karaaltın Clinic, shared insights about their newly developed technique for facial paralysis, a condition caused by damage to the facial nerve fibers that transmit signals from the brain to the facial muscles, leading to loss of movement in the face. Facial paralysis can be congenital, sudden, or develop gradually over time.
. In 1985, Dr. John W. House and Dr. Derald E. Brackman, two ENT specialists from Los Angeles, developed a classification system to assess the severity of facial paralysis, known as the House-Brackman scale, which includes levels 1 through 6.
Dr. Karaaltın continued, “At Dr. Karaaltın Clinic, we aim to highlight the importance of early diagnosis and surgical techniques in treating facial paralysis. Despite various methods used globally, perfect results have not been achieved. For House-Brackman level 6 patients, muscle transplants were performed, but due to the large size of the transplanted muscles, significant facial asymmetries occurred. Observing this, Dr. Karaaltın focused on the condition and, after extensive research, became the first in the world to use a very thin muscle from the upper part of the leg for facial paralysis surgery. This technique has entered medical literature and is now known as the 'Karaaltın Technique.'
Currently, at Dr. Karaaltın Clinic, we are taking a comprehensive approach to facial paralysis and have pioneered a two-stage surgical procedure. For patients with House-Brackman levels 3, 4, and 5, we first perform nerve grafting. A spare nerve from the leg is connected to a spare nerve on the healthy side of the face to bring a new nerve to the paralyzed side. In patients diagnosed early, this method has shown remarkable success, often reducing the need for muscle transplants. For patients with House-Brackman level 6, we combine nerve and muscle transplants in the same procedure, significantly increasing the success rate of the surgery.”