ANA Discussion Forum
Post-Treatment => Facial Issues => Topic started by: KarenE on September 05, 2010, 01:43:57 pm
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Well, my surgery is over with and I am so thankful!!
It took 11 hours, much longer than my 5 hour tumor removal, and I was in the hospital for 5 days. My legs are pretty sore from where they cut out nerves to use in my face. My face has some swelling, but it's not as bad as it could be from other pictures I've seen. I can blink my eye again since the gold weight is in, which is so great! I had a drainage tube in my neck while in the hospital - I'm not sure where that fluid was coming from??? But now, I'm up and walking, with a walker - AGAIN! I go back to my surgeon on Tuesday to get my stitches removed!!! He said that I should start to see some facial movement in about 7 months. ;D
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I bet you're glad it's over. I asked about a nerve graft, but I didn't qualify. It's been 16 years since my AN surgery.
I do wish I would have been informed about these procedures when it all happened. >:( Good luck, and keep us posted.
Mary Ann
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Hey Karen! Welcome back and thanks for the update! Glad to hear that it's over and you're on the road to recovery. --Carol Ann
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Wonderful news Karen, continued healing... Always good thoughts, Nancy
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Those eyelid implants are the greatest, aren't they? I am looking forward to hearing more good news from you in the spring.
Sara
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Karen,
So glad to hear that surgery is over and done with, and that you have that eye weight! We're like a work in progress, aren't we?! 11 hour surgery is impressive :o
Now the fun part of waiting....I waited 3 months before I saw movement with my surgery. I'm still trying to figure out what kind of surgery you had! We definitely didn't have the same one.
I'm thinking it was like the 12/7 surgery but he did not use the 12th cranial nerve (hypoglossal), but some nerve in your leg and attached to the facial nerve.
Will be interested to see how things progress for you.
Stay positive! :)
Maureen
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Karen: I also had the cross facial nerve grafting done but mine was done in two shorter surgeries spaced apart, one to put it in there and hook up to the good 7th nerve and the second was to innervate an already transferred muscle in there.
What did they hook the transferred nerve to on the bad side?
I would say it was about 7-8 months before I saw a difference.
Mary-Ann: I know what you mean about not being told about "what can be done to fix the face", I wasn't told either I just took a chance and went to see a doctor that works in the hospital I work in who I knew.....he himself only did **** jobs and stuff but he knew someone to referr me to. If I hadn't taken the bull by the horns I wouldn't have had anything done either!
Kathleen