Delayed paralysis help!

[seh0308]

Hi all I am 15 days post op translab surgery and am having full right side facial paralysis now. I was hoping to hear if anyone else experienced this. I came out of surgery with perfect facial function at a 1 on the HB scale then at day 8 I started getting some weakness until over the last week I have gone to a 5-6 on the HB scale. I have a small amount of twitching once in a while but that's it. My eye doesn't close all the way and i went back to the doctors and they all think it'll come back but for me it's just getting worse. Did anyone else experience being totally fine after surgery to having nothing?  Do people actually get their face back and if so how long did t take to see anything?  Just feeling really concerned and down right now about it all.

Thank you

[saralynn143]

This is pretty common following hemifacial spasm surgery. Your doctors are correct - the chances for full recovery for delayed paralysis are very good. If I recall correctly it should be relatively short-lived (in weeks rather than months) but I don't have first-hand experience since I had the wake-up-with-it variety.

Best wishes to you.

[seh0308]

Hi sarahlynn143 thank you so much for your response.  I am trying to be patient but am quickly losing hope- although I think probably most people feel this way in the beginning?
I really appreciate you taking the time to write back! 

Sarah

[Mimispree]

Please don't lose hope so soon because nerves heal very slowly.  If you do a search for facial paralysis (after tumor debulking) on this site and on the web, you will find that it has taken some people a couple of years before the healing is detected. 

I have right-sided paralysis and I'm coming up on my six-months post-op milestone.  Nothing is moving yet, but I'm going to put it on the shelf for another twelve months. 
My new mantra is:  "I am not defined by my face." 

I used to have a rather attractive face and I didn't define myself by my face then because I always wanted to be recognized for more than my looks, so nothing's really changed.  I do miss wearing make-up though...

So please hang in there with me.  I am getting an eyelid weight on February 9, and I'm very excited about that and it can be removed when my facial nerve heals.

[LakeErie]

A rule of thumb is that what function you have on waking from surgery is what you will have later on. Were you on a tapered dosing of decadron or other steroid following release from the hospital? Often times, the steroid does it job of preventing swelling and inflammation of the cranial nerves affected by the surgery while you are taking it, but when the steroid dose is over, delayed complications of surgery can set in. This happened to me, my facial function went to HB2 from 1, my vocal cord stopped working, and I could not swallow on the AN side. With time the functions returned but it take 16 months to recover considerably an at three years plus from surgery I am almost normal in all respects.
Delayed complications are common and mostly require patience as the nerves recover and function gradually returns. Good luck.