CASE REPORT article
Front. Rehabil. Sci.
Sec. Rehabilitation in Neurological Conditions
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Peripheral Facial Palsy: From Pathophysiology to Rehabilitation/RecoveryView all 7 articles
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Post-Partum Bell's Palsy Associate with Anti-Phospholipid syndrome: A Case Report, Literature Review, and Mechanistic Insights
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh), Zerifin, Israel
- 2One Welfare Research and Consultation, kidron, Israel
- 3Tel Aviv University Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
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Background: Bell's palsy, the most common cause of acute facial paralysis, can occur more frequently during pregnancy and postpartum due to physiological changes such as fluid retention, hormonal shifts, and immune modulation. Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), an autoimmune disorder characterized by thrombosis and pregnancy related complications, further increases the risk of microvascular ischemia affecting cranial nerves. Case Presentation: We report the case of a 37-year-old woman with longstanding APS who developed postpartum Bell's palsy unresponsive to corticosteroid therapy. Despite receiving 60 mg of prednisone, no clinical improvement was noted. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) was initiated, prescribed for 20 sessions at 2 absolute atmospheres, 5 days per week. Remarkable improvement was observed after the first session, with complete symptom resolution by the twelfth session. Additionally, anti-dsDNA antibodies, previously positive during pregnancy, became negative following HBOT. Conclusion: HBOT may represent a valuable adjunctive treatment for postpartum Bell's palsy in high-risk populations such as those with APS, offering combined benefits of enhanced oxygenation, inflammation control, and vascular repair. Further prospective studies are warranted to validate these findings and define standardized treatment protocols.
Keywords: Anti phospholipid syndrome, Bell's palsy, case report, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, Post partum
Received: 19 Jul 2025; Accepted: 30 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Elkarif, Morgan, Kravchik and Efrati. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Vicktoria Elkarif
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