Jamie, Concern is normal, but an experienced surgeon can often remove smaller tumors with no complications. Nerves can be irritated and/or swell, but most facial weakness, if any, is temporary. I had a large tumor like Jim did and was House-Brackmann scale 2 after surgery. # 1 on that scale is normal function. I was back to # 1 by the time I had the incision stitches removed, about 10 days. While the weakness was resolving, no one who saw me noticed anything. I also had a CSF leak that eventually resolved on its own, no medical intervention was required at all. It's nice so many people want to see you after surgery, but remember that fatigue is often part of initial recovery. Often the recovery is more demanding than the surgery. Give yourself time to begin a real a recovery. Many AN sites refer to "survivor's euphoria, " which amounts to so much relief the procedure is over, that we initially feel better than we do later. Good luck.
