Facial issues presurgery

[Shelley A]

I have read about facial issues after surgery, but would like to know how many have had issues presurgery?  I have tightness and slight numbing feeling in my forehead and cheeks.  It is on both sides of my face, not just my AN side.  My "little guy" is pushing the 2.5 cm mark and we have decided to have him removed from his current residence.  I don't have a date just yet, but will talk about setting one on my next appointment on March 6th.  Another question I have is, with these symptoms, is it more probable that I will have greater facial issues just after surgery with the healing process?  I am not scared or sad about what could happen, it's all apart of God's plan.  Just trying to gain knowledge so that I can better prepare myself and my family.  Thanks in advance for thoughts shared!

[LakeErie]

I had numbness and tingling across the lower half of my face and tongue pre-surgery. It was considerably worse after surgery and stayed that way for about 9 months. Around 10 months it began to slowly improve, and now at 16 months, it is much better. In fact it is usually not something I notice at all. Good luck

[mk]

Hello,

the issues you describe are related to the trigeminal nerve, which is obviously being affected by the tumor. The trigeminal nerve is quite resilient, and it does heal once the pressure is removed.
I also had very pronounced numbness throughout the face, altered taste, lack of sensation on the cornea, the whole range of trigeminal symptoms.
All these symptoms disappeared right after surgery. They did reappear briefly after a few weeks (rapid onset), at which time my surgeon told me that sensory nerves can experience fluctuations. They did disappear again, and they never appeared again.

Marianna

[Shelley A]

Thank you both for sharing!