Limitations
There were various limitations to the current study. First, the sample
was selected from a tertiary care setting and had a long median duration
of facial palsy. The character of complaints experienced by patients has
been reported to evolve over time.7 This might mean
that the relative importance of each FaCE subscale in acute facial palsy
may be different from our findings. Second, the tertiary care setting
meant that acoustic neuroma was the most common etiology, instead of
Bell’s palsy as is seen in the general facial palsy population. Third,
patients at our clinic are generally suffering from severe facial palsy
requiring surgery. Mild cases only involving regional paralysis or
synkinesis are infrequently seen. Lastly, the sample size to evaluate
validity and reliability of the VAS was relatively small.