The truth is in the water: Metastatic prostate cancer presenting as an intermittent facial nerve palsy

Abstract

An elderly man presented to the acute ear, nose and throat (ENT) services with a history of intermittent, self-limiting facial nerve palsy. Full ENT examination was normal, with all cranial nerves and peripheral neurology intact. Multiple imaging modalities suggested an aggressive bony lesion, secondary to locally advanced prostate malignancy with extensive metastatic infiltration. Prostate cancer is known to preferentially metastasise to bone and has been known to cause multiple cranial nerve palsies and ophthalmoplegia. This is the first case described in the literature of metastatic prostate cancer presenting with intermittent facial nerve palsy.