I had my follow-up appointment with Dr. Neely today. At 11.5 months post-op, I scored 53 on his scale. I believe this would correspond with a weak III on the House-Brackman scale. Dr. Neely thinks that considering where I started, I have made excellent progress. I have symmetry at rest. My eyelid closes most of the way with the platinum weight, then drifts the rest of the way shut. Dr. Neely said he could see the muscle that holds the eyelid opening countering against the muscle that shuts the eyelid on the first attempt, but when I relaxed it was much better. He described my snarl as good, my smile as good except that the marginal mandibular muscle (I hope I remembered that correctly) isn't moving much so it is still lopsided. No movement in my forehead yet. Synkenesis is minimal.
I asked when I should consider starting physical therapy or facial retraining, and he said now is good. Someone will be giving me a call in the next few days to set that up. Dr. Neely does not need to see me for regular follow-ups anymore unless I feel I need one.
Yay!
Sara
