The Editor in Chief and the Publisher have decided to retract this article. Upon investigation carried out according to the Committee on Publication Ethics guidelines, it has been found that the authors have duplicated substantial parts from the following article: ‘Subtotal facial nerve decompression in preventing further recurrence and promoting facial nerve recovery of severe idiopathic recurrent facial palsy’, by Shu-hui Wu, Xiang Chen, Jie Wang, Hua Liu, Xiao-zhong Qian, Xin-liang Pan, DOI:10.1007/s00405-014-2991-9.