Treatment For Facial Paralysis
Facial paralysis is a disorder that is caused by damage to the facial nerve and leads to a distortion of the face and an unbalanced facial expression. In addition, it can cause other functional problems including the loss of muscle movement in the cheek and lips leading to speech problems, as well as the person’s ability to chew, drink and swallow.
Eye problems are also common as well. Common causes of facial paralysis include strokes, as well as Bells Palsy syndrome. In the long term facial paralysis leads to the loss of facial muscle tone and movement, which can create sagging of the cheek, lip, nose, eyebrow and lower eyelid with an inability to fully close the upper eyelid. Individuals with facial paralysis find the condition to be devastating, as they no longer are effectively convey emotion and mood, which leads to issues with a person’s self esteem and confidence.
Advances in cosmetic surgery techniques now offer patients suffering from facial paralysis many options to treat the symptoms of facial paralysis. Surgical procedures that correct the smile and drooping mouth include a variety of dynamic static reanimation procedures. Dynamic reanimation procedures include temporalis slings and temporalis tendon transfers. Dynamic reanimation procedures for the eyes include the lateral tarsal strip procedure and an upper eyelid gold weight procedure, both of which prevent chronic eye issues and vision problems.
Static reanimation procedures include Fascia Lata grafts and Gortex slings, both of which can provide dramatic improvement to a patient’s ability to chew, as well as their speech and overall facial balance. In some cases a brow lift is used to correct eyebrow asymmetry, as well as a face-lift to improve overall facial harmony.
When utilized by a qualified and experienced surgeon the patient’s facial paralysis symptoms are usually alleviated significantly, allowing patients to regain their confidence, as well as their self-esteem!
Posted on behalf of Benjamin Stong, MD, Kalos Facial Plastic Surgery, LLC
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