Hi Tony: Yes, with the temporalis tendon (rather than muscle) transfer, when I bite down the right side of my mouth will move slightly upward for a closed mouth smile. There was an incredible amount of swelling (I also had the bilateral facelift & browlift to help with symmetry) immediately post op - my mom said she could only make out the tip of my nose because I was sooo swollen. It remained very swollen for a few days, now little by little the swelling is going down (but still swollen 1 1/2 weeks later).
It hurts really bad to try a bite down still, geuss it will take quite a bit of time. You're right, no nerve involvement with these procedures. I have alot of bruising still purple & yellow. My lips burn on the right side - I didn't even recognize that I had lips on the right side due to the purple color & stitches, but it looks better now, still need to recover. He attached both upper & lower side of the mouth to the tendon(I think).
So, you have another month & a half till surgery. I know the tendon transfer is relatively new & there weren't any doctors in my insurance network who perform it yet, so I have to pay 30% out of network, but I plan on talking with Cigna about this(among other things...).
All the best Tony, Nancy