Post-Treatment > Facial Issues

Facial Paralysis Recovery Timeline

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lablove:
I continue to have improvement and decreasing facial paralysis since surgery over a year ago. I work with an occupational therapist specializing in facial massage as well as receive botox injections quarterly. The healing will continue!

tugnutt:
Hi Sanderson,

I want to offer my experience, which isn't reflected here.  My AN surgery was done in October 2015. Despite the care taken by the surgeons to protect the facial nerve, it was apparently damaged. I waited a year plus for my nerve (left side of face) to respond.  I had started to despair!  On this bulletin board, I found a reference for a doctor at Johns Hopkins who had helped the poster recover facial movement.  I saw the doctor (Kofi Boahene) who told me that waiting can pose problems, as muscles atrophy and features can start to change. Regardless, he said he could help me, and we arranged surgery for a gracilis graft transfer.  The surgery was performed January 2017, and within 3 months, I had small - but definite - movement!

I have attached a link to my story.  It's hard to know the right time to pursue intervention, and I am so happy for people who have recovered their facial mobility without surgery! In my case, I was pretty sure it wasn't going to happen.  I am very pleased with the results of my surgery, and I hope this info helps you.

Kathy
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/surgeons_transform_static_mona_lisa_smiles_to_joyous_ones

Sanderson:
Thank you for your reply.  I am now eight months post surgery and have seen a specialist. He things that I am not going to improve anymore than I have, which is that at all. I am looking into having a nerve graft or another type of surgery. The surgeon I saw said that the 7/12 nerve graft was the most reliable option. But I am looking into going to San Francisco or the House Clinic/Institute in Los Angeles to see what they have to say. I still want to wait one year post-op  to see if a miracle will happen.

Sanderson:
I am now officially 8 months post surgery with no improvement. Thanksgiving week was a rough one because reality started to really set in. I thought by the holiday season I would see some type of improvement. I still get nervous zap feelings in my mouth and just last week in my upper lip.

Sanderson:
So I’m replying to myself. It’s 11 months post-op and I am not better. I am seeing a surgeon this Tuesday to gather options for surgery.

I try to fix my hair in the morning and go on with the day by never looking in a mirror.

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