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Society places high value on repairing severe unilateral facial paralysis

Observers of individuals with facial paralysis were willing to pay higher rates to repair more severely paralyzed faces than they were to repair less severely paralyzed faces, according to recent study results.

The researchers evaluated varying degrees of facial paralysis, the willingness to pay for a repair and the value society places on facial reanimation surgery. The observational cohort study included 348 casual observers of faces with low, medium or high levels of unilateral facial paralysis.

Results indicated that the observers’ willingness to pay for repair increased in a nonlinear fashion with the increasing severity of the paralysis. For a low-grade paralysis, they were willing to pay $3,487 (95% CI, 2,362-4,961), whereas they were willing to pay $8,571 (95% CI, 6,401-11,234) to repair medium-grade paralysis. The willingness to pay for high-grade paralysis was $20,431 (95% CI, $16,273-25,317).

Results of a model suggested that perceived quality of life decreased as the severity of the paralysis increased (regression coefficient, −0.004; 95% CI, −0.005 to −0.004).

Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.