Electroacupuncture therapy for abducent palsy after acoustic neuroma surgery.

Abducent palsy, a dysfunction of cranial nerve VI causing diplopia, has an annual population incidence of about 11 per 100 000, of which 3% follow neurosurgery. About 60% of patients with isolated abducent palsy from vascular causes recover within 9 months. Diplopia can significantly affect the person’s quality of life, making simple everyday tasks difficult to manage and even dangerous. Acupuncture has been used for treating diplopia and ptosis in China, but there are few reports of its use in cases of neurosurgical injury.