7-12 Questions

[janitorx]

Well, it has certainly been a while since I posted here.  I had translab surgery in May 2007 which rendered me about a 6 on the HB scale.  Since then, I am now somewhere between 4 and 5.  I relocated across country 2 months post op and had one bad experience with a clueless ENT that made me less proactive about seeing another one.  I finally found a pretty good ENT, and according to him, it is time to consider some reconstructive work.  On Friday, I finally had the gold weight put in my eyelid.  Wow!  What a difference!  In Jan, I will meet with another surgeon to discuss the 7-12 jump.  I do have some questions for y'all.

1)  How will removing a nerve from my foot/leg affect my ability to run?  I'd rather have facial paralysis than not be able to run 
2)  How long will I be out of commission post-op?
3)  What is the recovery like?
4)  Will I have facial droop before things improve?

I am full-aware that I will never look the same again, but if it can improve some facial tone, it might be worth it.  What are you thoughts? Impressions? For those who have had this surgery would you do it again?

Thanks so much!

[Kaybo]

Hi!
I had the 7-12 and they took NOTHING out of NO WHERE - I have no idea what you are talking about you foot???  7-12 is the two nerves in your FACE...I am running out now but I will write more later.  Maybe Lori (who just had it) will have more insight to share...

K

[janitorx]

Ok.  I am so sorry--I am conflating two procedures.  Still woozy from the painkillers and antibiotics! 

My ENT brought up a nerve grafting procedure which would involve a nerve from my lower leg.

[saralynn143]

janitorx,

Are you still seeing progress in your recovery? I am asking because at 19 months post-op you may not be done healing yet. See Jeanlea's post titled Facial Progress (http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=7247.0) -- it took her three years but she has a beautiful smile. I keep that post bookmarked because I go look at it when I feel frustrated about my progress. It gives me hope!

Sara

[lori67]

Hi.

As Kay mentioned, I had the 7-12 at the end of September.  They didn't remove anything from my leg, foot or anywhere else.  I've actually never heard of that procedure.   For me, they just took a portion of the hypoglossal nerve (tongue) and spliced it into the facial nerve.

I'm sure whatever nerve they choose to harvest from your leg or foot is small enough to not leave you with any problems with running.  It's likely that once you heal, you won't notice any difference in your running or walking.  But, I'd check with the doctor if it's something you are concerned about.

In answer to your other questions (if you take the foot/ankle part out of the mix), I was in the hospital overnight.  I took it easy the first couple of days at home and then by day 3 at home, I was back to driving the kids to school, grocery shopping, cooking, laundry - all those fun things.     My recovery had been pretty much uneventful.  I haven't had any pain, just some weird tingly sensations that I assume are nerves doing their thing. (at least I hope!).  My scar is healing nicely and doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. 

Unfortunately, you do get worse before you get better.  I was at a 5 on the House-Brackmann scale, so I didn't have far to go to look worse!     My doctor is pretty sure I will get back to at the very least a 3 when all is said and done.  I'll take that!  As for now, almost 3 months out - my eye has started to tear again, I have very tiny little movements in my upper lip, although I pretty much have to break a sweat to get it to happen, and if I move my tongue a certain way, I can snarl on the AN side.  Yes, I know - not a very handy skill, but you never know - I may want to be an Elvis impersonator someday.    I'll be starting PT as soon as the insurance stuff is taken care of - referrals and other formalities. 

Let me know what your doctor says about the other procedure he mentioned.  I'd be interested in hearing how that one works.

Lori

And in answer to your final question, yes, I would do it again.  Although I don't know what the final result will look like, I felt like I should at least try it.  I didn't have much to lose and plenty to gain.

[Dfcman]

Janitor X,

I had the 12/7 in October 2006. I've been to EMG doctors and they saw little or no hope for movement which is why I went ahead with the 12/7 in the first place.  For me, the procedure was outpatient but since it was so late in the day they kept me overnight.   That particular 12/7 procedure gave me the point where I was at about a 4 or 5 on HB. I  The process is different for everybody and depends(I think) on how much of the tongue nerve they graft.  You actually end up using your tongue to smile... Its kinda weird....but after awhile you get used to it and I've come to understand that after awhile you don't use the tongue at all. The thing is that if you use too much of the tongue's nerve it will overreact.  They used a very, very tiny piece for me; hence I saw slower movement. I was told nerve regeneration is 6-24 months but my doctor told me it can take 3-5 years. I am still seeing improvements 26 months later and my doctor told me to be more patient and that if it was really bothering me I could see a plastic surgeon.  I just recently had a facelift and the results were quite satisfying.  The facelift was far from perfect but made my face look normal at rest.  Today, I tried using my tongue and I could see I was beginning to make a slight grin.

My advice to you is to go ahead with this 12/7 procedure.  For the most part its pretty painless(esp. with vicodin) considering the other  stuff you went through.  I went ahead and got the face lift because I am young, still in college, impatient, self conscious and probably a little vain.  The fact that I could never look normal again really haunted me.  I have had much bad luck with women and I felt this facial palsy didn't help things.  You seem to be a little more confident about yourself and I feel that anything you feel is the right thing to do.  I wish you the best of luck...

sincerely,
Chris

[Kathleen_Mc]

Well, it has certainly been a while since I posted here.  I had translab surgery in May 2007 which rendered me about a 6 on the HB scale.  Since then, I am now somewhere between 4 and 5.  I relocated across country 2 months post op and had one bad experience with a clueless ENT that made me less proactive about seeing another one.  I finally found a pretty good ENT, and according to him, it is time to consider some reconstructive work.  On Friday, I finally had the gold weight put in my eyelid.  Wow!  What a difference!  In Jan, I will meet with another surgeon to discuss the 7-12 jump.  I do have some questions for y'all.

1)  How will removing a nerve from my foot/leg affect my ability to run?  I'd rather have facial paralysis than not be able to run 
2)  How long will I be out of commission post-op?
3)  What is the recovery like?
4)  Will I have facial droop before things improve?


Janitor X: I first had the 7 to 12 done and later had the nerve grafting done..... you'll bounce back from the 7 to 12 on on time.....after the nerve graft you'll likely have to give up jogging for about 6 weeks (depending) but then you leg won't be an issue
Kathleen
I am full-aware that I will never look the same again, but if it can improve some facial tone, it might be worth it.  What are you thoughts? Impressions? For those who have had this surgery would you do it again?

Thanks so much!