Crocodile tears syndrome: botulinum toxin treatment under EMG guidance.

Sibel Kizkin, Selim Doganay, Handan Isin Ozisik, Cemal Ozcan

Faculty of Medicine, Inonu University and Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Malatya, Turkey. skizkin@inonu.edu.tr

Functional neurology 2005 Jan-Mar

filter terms:

Crocodile tears syndrome is one of the rare complications of facial paralysis. There have been several reports of cases in which botulinum toxin was found to be useful in the treatment of crocodile tears syndrome. The adverse effects, due to the paralytic action of botulinum toxin, have been reported to involve the palpebral muscle, lateral rectus and superior rectus. Therefore, we considered that it might be more appropriate to carry out the injection procedure under electromyographic guidance in order to inject botulinum toxin selectively into the lacrimal gland and protect the above-mentioned muscles. In conclusion, we recommend EMG guidance in the treatment of crocodile tears syndrome with botulinum toxin.

Citation

Sibel Kizkin, Selim Doganay, Handan Isin Ozisik, Cemal Ozcan. Crocodile tears syndrome: botulinum toxin treatment under EMG guidance. Functional neurology. 2005 Jan-Mar;20(1):35-7