Neurorrehabilitation with the Padovan® Method in newborns with Congenital Facial Palsy: Report of 2 Cases

Abstract

Congenital facial paralysis results from defects in the development of the facial nerve or trauma in some part of its path, where perinatal trauma is the main cause of this type of paralysis. This study aimed to demonstrate the efficacy of the Neurofunctional Reorganization (Padovan Method®) in suction restoration in two newborns with isolated unilateral congenital facial paralysis of the lower lip in a hospital in the interior of Ceará. The first case is a newborn infant with 34 weeks and 5 days, male, AIG and Apgar from 8/9 participants of the reorganization therapy for 8 days and suctioning at the seventh day. The second one is PTNB at 31 weeks, male, Apgar 6/7, uncoordinated sucking reflex, hypoactivity, weak crying and reflexes of lateralization of the head, repetition, and passage of absent hands, which after 22 days of therapy presented coordinated suction and improved neurological examination. The use of the Padovan Method® was effective in restoring suction in the analyzed cases, however, it is necessary to follow the patients longitudinally to evaluate the evolution of facial paralysis.