Facial nerve cut... Next steps?

[jamcats]

My husband just had surgery and the facial nerve was so involved that the surgeons cut it in order to remove the whole tumor. They said it was long enough to reconnect it so he has a 50/50 chance that it will work again.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Can you share some insight into what happened for you?

The docs recommend that he get a gold weight before leaving the hospital. Did anyone do this and find it helpful? They said it could be temporary and can be removed once he doesn't need it. We're expecting more info about it in the next few days but I thought I'd check in here in the meantime.

Thank you!

[saralynn143]

My facial nerve was stretched, not cut. After about three months there was a little movement by my nose, after six a little movement by the corner of my mouth. I have probably regained 65-70% of function. My smile shows some teeth but is lopsided and I do not have a complete blink.

You can check the eye issues part of the forum for more info, but I encourage him to get he eyelid weight as soon as possible. It helps keep the eye closed and protected at night. He will likely still need to keep drops or ointment in the eye to protect his cornea.

Best wishes to you both.

[saralynn143]

By the way, here is an article that I found very helpful: http://neurosurgery.mgh.harvard.edu/CranialBaseCenter/b95.htm

[alabamajane]

Hi Jamcats,
I had the same thing 18 mos ago,, I would recommend the eyelid weight also,, I have a 1.2 gram gold weight, helps close eye, still needed drops during the day and ointment at night to keep/ cornea healthy ,, don't need drops as much lately but still use ointment at night..
I had a 12/7 nerve graft done 4 days after AN surgery to connect facial nerve to tongue nerve,, that has allowed my nerve to grow back and some movement of face after about first 6 mos,,, I don't expect to ever have "old" smile or movement ,,, but have some of both after 18 mos,,,

Good luck to you both,, it is a hard journey for sure but surmountable ,, it will take time though ,, no rushing things,,I was told 12-18 mos for nerve to grow back and I am still seeing some improvement at this point,, patience and time will be his best friends,,, that and YOU,,, keep coming on here and let us know what Drs tell him ,, we care ,, Jane

[Unjaded]

My facial nerve was cut during my surgery in Nov 2011. They immediately put both ends in a neurotube in the hopes that it will regenerate and reconnect. I'm now at almost 6 months post op.......I've had no nerve progress to date (at check-up 2 weeks ago). I had an eyelid weight inserted and my lower lid tightened on Feb 28.  Today the eye surgeon informed me that I needed a heavier weight because I still have a 4mm gap in eye closure.  It's been rough, and likely will be for sometime, but I just keep on hoping :-)

[alabamajane]

Hang in there Unjaded,, I did not see any improvement either until at least 6 mos
I am now a little over 1 1/2 yrs and have much more movement than at first,, not exactly all I was hoping for but more than in the beginning  ,, yes it is a VERY difficult journey for sure,, but there is hope.. Mine was reconnected end to end also and Dr gave me very good chances of some movement ..
Hang in there,,, best wishes , Jane

[jamcats]

Thanks for all your advice!

My husband ended up having a platinum weight put in 3 days post-op. It definitely helps him close his eye the whole way, and is barely noticeable (although still a little bruised). He's already tired of putting drops and lubricant in all the time, and is wondering when he'll be able to see out of his right eye again. It's not that he can't see at all, but he's used to wearing contacts and has had his glasses on since surgery. The lube also blurs things up, but he is glad not to have to wear the moisture chamber during the day at anymore.

Can anyone share when this got better for them? Does the vision in the effected side get better? Will he just have to wear his glasses forever or will there come a time contacts will be ok? We have a followup with his doc next week when we can ask about this, and I'll share what we learn, but I'm often more interested in what people in the forum have to say about what *actually* happened to them vs. what the docs say may or may not happen.

[Cheryl R]

I had a facial neuroma in 2006 with the nerve graft done at the same time from nerve from by the ear.       I was told it would take 8 mos or longer for any improvement and that was when did start having some movement.        I was also told that one usually does not get complete movement back after this.  I have very little movement around the eye but the eye does close and I never did the eye weight but knew I could if felt needed one.    I look good at rest as one can see with my profile picture but my smile is off.    One perfects the closed mouth smile in time.      I do have some synkinesis  with my eye shutting when try to do a big smile.                  The wait to see how it will go for you is hard and one wants to look better faster than what our nerve says it will.           Hang in there and hope it does do well in time for you.                       Cheryl R

[nancyann]

Hi Jamcats: I had my facial nerve cut & re-attached also, unfortunately for me I have permanent facial paralysis. I had the T3 (Temporalis Tendon Transfer) procedure done a year later at Johns Hopkins by Dr. Patrick Byrne. I had been using lubricant 24/7 since June 2006 after my surgery until this Feb. when I got a scleral lens (larger than a contact lens). You put saline in it & it keeps my eye lubricated all day, & I can see out of it (still a bit blurry b'c I still use lubricant & moisture chamber at night).  If your husband smokes have him stop b/c this will affect nerve regeneration (I unfortunately smoked during the healing process so I don't know if my outcome would have been different).
Anyway, one of the most important things is protecting the cornea from getting too dry and leading to a corneal ulcer.
I wish you both the best, always good thoughts, Nancy

[Kathleen_Mc]

drops drops drops! grrrrrr I get fed up with them a lot and don't tend to use them as much as I should but encourage him to keep it up
I have never been able to return to contacts but I do not have the weight, don't know if this makes a difference in the decreased blinking which is also an issue along with the dryness when it comes to contact, hopefully he can find a way!

[Jill Marie]

Kathleen,

Please check into the scleral lens, there are 5 or 6 of us on the board that have them now and love them.  There are several posts in the eye issues threads, check them out.  Feel free to ask questions.  Jill

[adds_character]

I had my facial nerved severed during a middle ear operation 24 years ago...I was only 20 years old.  It was repaired right away.  I had the weight put in my eye lid... it helped.  The ointment and the drops were a necessary pain in the can.  My affected eye still does not close as tightly as the other... by I have been wearing my contacts successfully for years.  I did not really see too much movement until about a year out.  I have about 60% now... Keep your chin up!!!

[dr4sherry]

Hello all who is dealing with paralysis we must give each other support because no one really knows how it feels to loose expression partial or fully. I just had surgery on nov 11 2013 the right side was very weak and I couldn't smile on that side now that I've had the graft done the left side doesn't work I am soo so sad..this is now week 5 and I cannot wiggle my.nose or move my upper lip it is severely depressing. today I will see a neurologist to ask her if I can get another doctor to test the left side .if my nerve is ruined on that side I'm basically really messed up if that is the case ...can someone who has actually had this surgery tell me if they had paralysis immediately after surgery on the good side and had return of function. Can u share how long it took..thank you

[alabamajane]

Hi,sorry you are having such difficulty after surgery ,, just for info, I never had any weakness nor side effects on my "good" side of face.. I don't have experience with what you are experiencing ,, sorry,, just wanted to express my concern for you and your situation..I sincerely hope things improve soon.. Keep us updated please,,
Jane

[Gloria Nailor]

My facial nerve was not cut but severely damaged, I had total facial paralysis for about 6 months and then slowly I have regained some function, I regained a lopsided smile at a year and have some slight cheek movement too, at 2+ years, I can move my eyebrow ever so slightly. I  can't close my eye without a gold weight though and have a stitch in my eye too, which helps me close it easier, no need for eye drops anymore after the stitch. Only time tells what you will regain and no one knows how much will come back, hang in there!