Surgical techniques for smile restoration in patients with Möbius syndrome

Möbius syndrome is a congenital condition, the etiology when is not associated with misoprostol is not well defined. Signs and symptoms include difficulty swallowing, speech problems, drooling, strabismus, limitation of eye movement and more importantly, the facial blankness that these individuals have, result of the facial paralysis, due to atrophy of the cranial nerves that are involved in this condition. The ability to express emotions is affected and are considered “children without a smile.” There is currently no treatment to solvent the birth defects, the treatment options for reduce these alterations is the surgical option that has as main objective to restore muscle function through various techniques, used as required, the possibilities of applying them, is taking into consideration the outcome of the procedure to execute. Among the surgical techniques used mainly: the lengthening myoplasty of the temporal muscle,muscle transfers, cross-facial grafting, neurorrhaphy and nerve transposition, of which latter are the best performers, giving the patient a more natural, in as far as regards expression and function. Key words:Möbius syndrome, surgery, smile, facial nerve, muscle transfer, transfer nerve, temporalis muscle.