WHAT IS THIS DIMPLE IN MY CHIN?

[CROOKEDSMILE]

OK-MY FACE LOOKS DIFFERENT ALL THE TIME NOW. I AM  GETTING A WEIRD DIMPLE IN THE SIDE OF MY CHIN. IT ALSO LOOKS LIKE I HAVE A CONSTANT SMIRK. DO I NEED TO START THERAPY? WHAT IS IT ?

[Karen]

Hi, the dimple in the chin according to Jackie Diels is a nerve (some kind of siynkanesis(spelled wrong)  She can help you with that.  How is your eye lid doing?  Can you still blink?  Karen

[CROOKEDSMILE]

Hi Karen.
Yeah, My eye is still blinking okay. Just very weak to close. Saw eye surgeon today who is watching the cellulitis every 2-3 days until we get it under control. I asked him if he thought the reason I am able to blink is due to swelling and he said that some of it is but that he can see some of the muscles actually contract and that I do have some function back but we won't know how much until the swelling goes down completely. He thinks that it will continue to improve with time.. The dimple in my chin is very noticeable when I try to smile and my neck is tight. I would bet they will eventually do botox to calm these muscles down but I am only 8 months post op so I don't know. Very frustrated and nervous that any day now the swelling in my eye will disappear and the blink will stop. That is the first thing I do in the morning when I wake up is try to blink to see if it is still doing it. Hope you are doing fine Karen.
ANgie

[Angela]

I dunno but I got a weird divet in my chin now.  My face was paralyzed for almost 3 yrs and just started moving.  Now I have a spot when I try to smile.  I think it's the void between moving muscles and "sleepy" muscles.

[HeadCase2]

crookedsmile,
  I've heard about the chin dimple from several AN patients.  I had it for a while post surgery.  It slowly went away.
Regards,
  Rob

[TLC719]

Hey crookedsmile,                My therapist told me to massage the area where the dimple is.I think that muscle is called platysma.Try that and if that does'nt work maybe try botox to help relax the muscle.          Teresa

[grocerychik]

Hi everyone, I sideline rather than write, but I learn from everyone.....One thing that has been on my mind is that in Sept it will be 3 years.  and I was wondering if anyone else has had any feeling come back to ther face after that long or more? I used to have the dimple in my chin but the botox has helped that smooth out. So any more hope on the rest of the face.........? Thank you

[cinnamon]

You mentioned you used botox to smooth out the dimple in your chin. Did it make your bad side droop or could you tell a difference when trying to get a closed smile? My left side of my lower chin doesn't move at all but I didn't know if the botox paralyzed it so it doesn't let you close your mouth. I hope that makes sense. Also, who does the botox for you in that area? I seen a cosmetic surgeon for the corigator nerve which was raised when I smile and we are hoping with my exercises that it will calm down dramatically so I won't have to continue with botox for years but he didn't recommend anything around the mouth. Then my eye doctor which is an opthamologist( spelled wrong maybe) has suggested he would do botox around my mouth to make my face more symetrical. I just wanted to hear who does it for you and was it difficult to get the right nerve. My eye doctor says the nerves are really small and it may take a time or two to hit it just right. Then again he was talking about injecting multiple areas. I look forward to hearing back from you.


Lisa

[grocerychik]

Dr Roberson who did my surgery in Palo Alto does my botox. I get it multiple areas to make my face more symetrical. The nerves inmy chin on my right side are so tight feeling that when I get the botox it just loosens up my nerves (thats the feeling to me)  My smile still is crooked but it doesnt look as bad. He does it twice a year, I agree I don"t want botox for  years.

[wind6]

Hi Everyone,
I haven't been on for a while. I decided to take a year off and try to "not" think about AN's. I sort of succeeded I guess. I will write more in another post about my past year...for now the dimple in the chin issue.

I also have the dimple. Mine acts like a twitch so its really annoying. My eye surgeon did Botox and it is like a miracle. The dimple is gone for now and my chin doesn't feel numb at all. My family says my smile looks more like it used to now, so Botox is going to be the answer for me.

Cinnamon: my doctor told me Botox doesn't actually hit the nerve...he said the goal is to slightly paralyze the muscles around the nerve so it becomes immobilized.... This is all new to me too so I am glad to see this thread.

Hugs Old Friends and New,
Sherry 

[TP]

This is good info. I have a dimple in my chin and if you look in the mirro for a bit you can see it move. I had no idea that others were experiencing the same thing. I am approaching my two year anniversary of my AN surgery. I think it is time to look into Botox, thanks for the info!

[cinnamon]

TP
Yeah, I have had the twitching in my chin area for quite some time and it has almost been 2 years for me. It pulsates like it is confused on which way to go. I really don't like having my picture taken any more because that dimple in my chin. It makes my face really uneven and I look mean. I think I may do the botox in that area to see what it does. My concern was if the mouth still closed on that side. I mean it just relaxes the muscle so nothing else is affected right?

Grocerychik,

You mentioned you get botox in other areas to make your face symetrical. What are the other areas? I notice when I smile I do have this really strong crease from my mouth up to the side of the nose. Where would they do that injection and would it make my mouth not raise a little on the bad side as it does now? I want to look symetrical but I also want what movement I have to be retained. I appreciate your input.

Lisa

[grocerychik]

When I first had the surgery and went back to work I had customers ask if I had bells palsy or some thought I had a stroke. My face looks almost like it pulled to one side. So the botox loosens it (I guess, thats my feeling) He doesn't go to close to my eye on the AN side he is afraid it could freeze it so it won't close. But in my chin where the dimple is and my forehead between the eyes. I also have that crease when I smile, nothing has  changed that. I can't recall all the places it seems like theres more shots, but my recall isn't recalling right now. I go in July so I'll have to right it down so not to forget . But the good thing is my insurance approved at least twice  a year.

[saralynn143]

Angie, does the chin dimple come and go or is it there all of the time? I think I saw a dimple once yesterday and once today, but it is gone now. It's a small, kind of circular indentation on the paralyzed side?

I'm six weeks out. This is a good thing to have something moving even if it looks weird, right?

Sara

[Debbi]

I've had the same thing as what Sara described - a litte dimple that kind of comes and goes. I have only seen it when I am tired at the end of the day.  The whole area around it feels tight and more numb than usual.  Haven't had it for about a week.  I think it probably showed up the first time at about six weeks, but not sure. It is also not always in the exact same spot, sometimes closer to my lower jaw line and sometimes closer to my mouth.

Debbi, out darned dimple!