Thank you Paul for posting this.
I actually learned something new from this article that explains why so many of us suffer from dry eye, even though we don't have facial paralysis. Apparently this is due to injury to the "nervus intermedius", which upon a quick Google search is the branch of the facial nerve (nerve VII) located between the motor component of the VII and the vestibulocochlear nerve (nerve VIII). Obviously being located so close to nerve VIII it sustains injury during surgery (or even sometimes radiation), which causes disruption to the lacrymal function (i.e. tearing). The article also mentions "crocodile tear syndrome", which happens when the patient tears when eating. I think some people have reported this problem on the forum.
The article doesn't mention any other consequences of nervus intermedius injury, but I may look a bit more and report back.
Marianna
*Update* the salivary glands may be affected too, which would explain why some people complain of a dry mouth. And nervus intermedius also is responsible for taste from the anterior part of the tongue and palate. This might explain why some people have altered taste after surgery..
