Herpes Zoster Oticus is an acute disease of the skin associated with herpetic eruption on either side of the external auditory meatus and cavum concha. This is the most common cause of facial paralysis and involvement of both the vestibular and cochlear branch of 8th cranial nerve.
Herpes Zoster Oticus was considered as cutaneous disease for centuries. But Bright (1831) and Henley (1840) first pointed out that herpes zoster was a cutaneous manifestation of a nerve disease involving the sensory portion of spinal nerve. The syndrome of herpes zoster of the ear with facial paralysis and acoustic symptom was extensively studied and elaborated by Ramsay Hunt in 1907.
The signs and symptoms of this disease are, a shooting pain, as a rule, in the ear, unilateral; a bulla eruption, often vertigo and a sensory-neural hearing loss, preceded by a prodromal. period of fever and malaise. Often an unilateral peripheral facial paralysis. develops and difference in taste is a common complaint.
Although these cases are often referred to as herpes of the Geniculate Ganglion, few cases that have been examined postmortem showed patchy lymphocytic infilteartion of facial nerve above and below the geniculate ganglion, but the ganglion itself was not involved (Harner et al, 1970).
We can find several reported cases in Korea. The authors have experienced one case of Ramsay Hunt syndrome. The findings and review of available literature are reported in the following pages.
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