Pre-op facial nerve loss

[alicia]

What do the percentages mean after facial nerve testing?  I have already lost 42% of my facial nerve and I can't tell.  The doctors say it is not noticable until 75%.  So where do I stand now...if someone had not lost any, pre surgery - can the doctors damage 70% in surgery before you notice and now do I have only 30% to loose in surgery?  How do you all interpret the 42% loss?  I think I also understood the doctor to say that what is lost now can never come back.  It is only what is damaged in surgery that has a chance to regenerate.  Sorry if this is as confusing to read as it was to write.

[Kaybo]

Hi Alicia!
I have no idea about all that - I think I DID understand what you were asking - I just don't know how to answer it!!  I hope someone else can chime in and give you some answers!

K

[Cheryl R]

I have never heard of a percentage when it came to the facial nerve.     I don't think anyone has posted such before.        Very interesting.             My surgeon never has mentioned it to me.                   I hope someone posts who has heard of it.
                                                             Cheryl R

[joebloggs]

I have never heard of this either?!  My AN was a little smaller than yours and the whole right side of my face was numb for about 10 months before surgery - so does that mean I had a % of damage or stretching or whatever prior to surgery?  I dunno!  Following surgery the numbness went away... so who knows?

[Cheryl R]

    I have had pre op facial issues twice.      Just a bit of mouth droopiness prior to my first AN and facial droopiness for maybe a month before my facial neuroma.                 I have never had any facial numbness pre op.      Surprising,unusual??   
                                                                     Cheryl R

[alicia]

I have a small amount of facial/ear numbness now, but doctor said that is a different nerve - not the facial nerve that causes numbness.

[Jim Scott]

Hi, Alicia ~

Your question is relevant and I can only speculate that if your facial nerve is now 42% operative, then surgery could damage it to the point (75%) where you might notice the subsequent loss.  Generally, nerve damage due to the AN is permanent while many AN surgery patients have regained facial mobility/sensitivity following initial post-op facial nerve problems, assuming the nerve is not irreparably damaged during surgery, which is rare.   

Jim

[Lilan]

I'm not sure about what is lost never comes back. I know that has been applied to hearing, but that's a different type of nerve that cannot regenerate.

I suppose if the facial nerve is "stretched" by a large tumor, it can't be magically "unstretched," so deficits caused by that may not improve, but at least it won't be stretched further; that makes sense to me.

If a smaller tumor in the IAC is causing compression or diverting blood flow, that seems to me like maybe it could be expected to improve some over time after the offender is removed, assuming there is no major additional damage to the nerve during surgery.

Anyway, these are total layman's speculations and I wouldn't worry too much about the %ages. You still have a lot of useful function and no visible deficit, so consider it a matter of academic interest only! If you come out with what you went in with, or even close, you'll still be just fine, and any amount the nerve is "irked" during surgery, it can come back from.

[leapyrtwins]

I'm not sure about what is lost never comes back. I know that has been applied to hearing, but that's a different type of nerve that cannot regenerate.

This is true.  Hearing nerves are very delicate and can't regenerate - once they are damaged, that's pretty much it.

Facial nerves are heartier and more resilent and most eventually do come back.  Generally it's just a matter of weeks or months, but there have been cases on the forum where facial nerves came back after years.

For facial nerves that have permanent damage, there are options like T3 and 7/12 jump surgeries.  And we've seen some great results of those surgeries on the forum - NancyAnn, Kay, and Lori among others.

Jan

[jazzfunkanne]

my only symptom was facial numbness, my AN was over 4.5cm , i had grade 6 palsy after the op, it has improved to about 85-90% it has taken a long time to come back i am still hoping for more recovery.

[Rick Everingham]

Prior to my surgery I was having facial spasms, it would start in my cheek and tense up like a fist, pulling my eyelid down and the side of my mouth up.  I also had a lot of twitching in my eye lids (upper/lower), nose, and mouth.  After the surgery (trans lab), the doctor said my tumor was wrapping around the facial nerve.   I still have a very mild numbness and occasional twitching after 5 1/2 years.