nerve affected following lip aug and face lift

[Unregistered]

I am 6 weeks post op. I had a neck lift, face lift, mid face lift, brow lift, fat repostioning under both eyes, dermabrasion around the mouth and a lip aug. It is coming along except that one side of my face I do not have control of the vertical lines above my lip, so I cannot pucker or whistle etc. That same side the upper lip is still swollen a bit, again only very few of the lines are coming back in the area where one applies lipstick. The lower lip was not as bad and is functioning. I beleive it is the maxillary nerve that has been affected. My PS says it only happens to a very few, but he has seen full recovery tho there is no time frame I can be given. Has anyone else suffered thru this? My nostril on the same side won't scrunch up either. I have search so many sites for comfort, anyone out there?

[danya]

what you're describing is nerve damage to the distal end of the buccal branch of the facial nerve. this nerve goes right across the buccal fat pad. little branches of this nerve go all the way to lateral lip and side of the nose.
this nerve can be damaged during a facelift or midface lift. nerve damage should be temporary, and will usually return to normal in 3 to 4 months once the tiny nerve ends have had a chance to regenerate.
sometimes it takes a few months more, but nerve damage of this type is rarely permanent.
hang in there. another 6 weeks to go...
keep us posted, okay?
danya

[Unregistered]

Hi,

I am new to this board and very impressed w responses from the moderator. I am wanting to do a facelift and am real scared of having a bad outcome and came to here in search of advise and other's experiences.So nice to have actual knowledge shared.....thanks

[danya]

thank you for the kind words. there are lots of people who read the messages, but only a small percentage actually post.
so, don't be shy... if you have any questions or comments, feel free to join in!
and, of course, let me know if there's anything i can help you with.
danya

[danya]

p.s. if you register (http://beautysurg.com/forums/register.php?) for the message boards, you can sign up for email notification if someone replies to your post.

[Judy]

Hi
I had a browlift along with a midface lift approx. 9 weeks
ago. The right side of my face does not move properly yet.
The temple area is numb. Under my eye does not move nor does the right nostril flare (move). The top right portion of my lip does not
lift when I smile. My cheek is also drooped. I have seen improvement, but it has been very slow. My PS says it will come back, but can not guarantee a certain time. I have handled it pretty well up until a week ago, when I broke down and cried in his
office. He assured me they would take care of me and do whatever needed to be done. Time, however, for now is all that can be done.
He has given me some free skin treatments, IPL, Botox, etc. Has been wonderful to me. He has a good rep and I did check him out. It
is just one of the risks and unfortunately for me it happened to me!
At this point I can't say that I would do it again. I'm 41 and this was my first surgery. I also think my EYEBROWS are not lifted quite
high enough. Has anyone had to have a retouch or revision for this??

Thanks

[danya]

wow! 9 weeks and only one breakdown?!
as long as the nerve function and/or sensation continue to improve, you're on the right track. unfortunately, there is no way to speed up the healing process.
the nerves can continue regeneration up to 2 or even 3 years after surgery, but i'll bet that in another 9 weeks, you will no longer regret having your surgery.
it's nice to know that your surgeon is helping you cope with complimentary treatments, and is concerned with your recovery.
please let us know what happens.
danya

[SSD]

I had nerve damage too after a face lift. My smile was crooked for 3 months after the surgery because the nerve that runs along my jaw was paralysed. It recovered in 3 months and I became normal again...Thank God! Nobody noticed because I changed the way I smile. Instead of a full mouth grin, which is how I usually smile, I practiced a Mona Lisa type smile i.e. very slight closed mouth smile. As I said, nobody was able to tell anything was wrong. Take care of yourself and it will very likely return in time. Worrying won't help. I know, easier said than done. Let us know how you do.
SS

[Unregistered]

HI
Did you have any drooping or sag to the
side that is paralysed after the nerves
healed and your smile pulled up? I am
kinda worried about that too. PS says
he doesn't think so but you know???

[SSD]

No, every thing came back to normal. The surgeon said he could put Botox in the unaffected side to even it out till it recovered. However, it seemed to come back to normal just when I was about have that done, so I didn't do that. Anyway, he gave me a free Botox treatment to my frown area between my eyes which I didn't really need but it was free and I wanted to try it out. What kept me from panicking was a photo album in his waiting room. It was full of charity work he did for children in poor countries. Oh My God! There were all kinds of little kids with horrible facial deformities, clef palletes untreated, burns ...just horrible! Next to that a crooked smile was not so bad. So I just hung on hoping my smile would come back. My speech was off a bit too. Some words were a little bit slurred. I was begining to think I would not recover then it sort of quietly and gradually came back to normal at about 3 months. I could tell he was a bit concerned too. First he said wait till the swelling goes down, then wait 6 weeks, then give it 3 months. The day I showed up to get the free botox to even out my face, that is the morning we both saw I was becoming normal, the Botox went into my forhead instead :--) To answer your question, the recovery was complete, no residual problems.
SSD