Dysgeusia, gustatory sweating, and crocodile tears syndrome induced by a cerebellopontine angle meningioma

Facial nerve involvement in cerebellopontine angle tumors, both during their development and after excision, may be expressed in irreversible dysfunction of the parasympathetic pathways. The exact location of the lesion along the efferent nerve fibers can be established through evaluation of the functional level of those organs supplied by the cholinergic motor secretory components. This report deals with a female patient in whom peripheral facial palsy developed shortly after removal of a right cerebellopontine angle meningioma. She had slight facial asymmetry and deafness in the right ear and complained of prandial flush and sweating of the right malar area. Occult ipsilateral hyposalivation and hypolacrimation were diagnosed. In patients with seventh and ninth cranial nerve pathoses, evaluation of the end organs that are supplied by their associated autonomous nerve fibers is mandatory to prevent late ocular and oral sequelae.