Acoustic Neuroma Surgery and facial paralysis

[Pinkrose1]

Hi everyone, I had my surgery on 25Aug, all successful for removal of large AN tumour. Since coming home facial paralysis has started and now affects my eye and mouth. I wondered if anyone else had this after 2weeks post op and what helped them? I had heard you can tape the eye shut which I did yesterday and a friend bought some eye drops to keep eye moist, i'm hoping the facial paralysis won't last long. Thanks for any advice

[Wounded101]

Hello, ask your consultant to refer you to a specialist who will advise you on what facial movements to make. It seems your nerve may be damaged and there is great chance of restoration, as for my case, we did try several things however the doctor told me right after the surgery that it was damaged during the surgery so although we tried he did say it wasn't likely to heal itself - but you on the other hand, if in surgery it was saved and you're seeing effects after days there are plenty of facial exercises that should help. Replying to this ASAP as I hope it helps.

[Pinkrose1 in reply to Wounded101]

Thank you for your quick reply, hopefully it will recover soon and I'll get in contact with them. Many thanks

[Kellyc in reply to Wounded101]

why I am wondering if it is better to get there surgery while my is tiny rather than waiting for it to grow and be more complicated. I just want to dine out who in the world does the most of these surgeries and is well known in their field.

[touring]

Hi there,

I was told that my facial nerve was saved during surgery, but I still suffer from numbness around the mouth and nose and up towards the eye - almost a year post op. I have been told it can take months to get back to some sort of normality, but if you find it troublesome there is medication that can help. Have a word with your GP or Consultant. I also found that exercises from a Speech Therapist helped. I also needed to tape the eye overnight and this helped as the eyelid didn't drop back and give me dry-eye in the mornings. Eye drops helped as well. Don't need the tape any more 😀. My progress is slow and steady......hope yours is a bit quicker! Keep smiling 😃

[Pinkrose1 in reply to touring]

Thank you so much for your reply, I'm hoping it won't last too long as my eye has been very sore. My doctor prescribed some eye drops day and night which has helped. All the best for the future, hopefully over time your numbness will go, to know things have improved since your op has given me more hope.

[LisaBod]

I had my op in May 2021 and although my facial nerve wasn’t damaged, it was pretty angry and stopped doing what it should. I was left with a drooping face, and eye that wouldn’t close and a strange taste in my mouth, that cause food to taste different (usually really salty) and I dribbled. My voice was different too. I was told to do simple face massages each day to coax the facial nerve. I have my eye taped shut all the time and used a ointment in my eye to keep it moist. Slowly each week there was a bit more movement and now you can only see the lopsided side when I smile, my eye will shut if the other one is shut and I still need sunglasses if I leave the house, but my voice is almost back to normal and taste has improved. Tell your base skull nurse snd she will give you some exercises and arrange for physio etc. Don’t panic it will improve. Good luck in your journey

[Pinkrose1 in reply to LisaBod]

Thanks for your encouragement, I have seen slight improvement the last few days but still drink with a straw to stop me dribbling and my eye isn't as sore as it was. I will ask about the facial exercises and hopefully it will keep improving

[Gardener21]

Hello.. hope your recovery is going well.. I had my surgery on 23rd April, to debulk a 22mm tumour.. surgery was 12 hours and recovery was very erratic! I’m now 5 months post surgery and still have some facial problems. The paralysis after surgery was quite bad in my eye and mouth too. I persevered with facial massage and found myself a vestibular physio who gave me some facial (& balance) exercises. It’s much better now, & I’m thankful to be here! It’s not perfect & if I’m tired it’s a bit worse, but to my friends and family it’s barely noticeable. Be kind to yourself and get plenty of rest, keep up the massage.. it does get better.. we have had major, major surgery but don’t underestimate the healing power of your body. Love from B xx

[Pinkrose1 in reply to Gardener21]

Thanks B, it's good to know it's fairly normal to have the facial paralysis and that it will improve with time. It's only my 3rd week with it so early days. I definitely need some physio for my balance, think it will all help, I'll ask about that too. Thanks

[Kristyll]

Nerves are funny things and can badly react to any form of interference even opening to bare it to do the surgery so only time will tell if it’s permanent, or intermittent or May totally settle back to normal. Mine took two years so don’t dispair x

[Pinkrose1 in reply to Kristyll]

Thanks for your message, it happened after I came off all the tablets and steroids so hopefully it will settle soon as the inflammation goes down where the surgery was. Glad you are ok now

[Blappers]

Hi @Pinkrose1, just want to ask how your facial paralysis is after 10 months. My second surgery was in June 2022 and I have a right facial paralysis after that. The doctor did say that the nerve was saved and hence will probably be better with time. So wanted to see how you are doing?

[Pinkrose1 in reply to Blappers]

Hi Blappers, just saw your message you sent. That's great that the doctor said your facial nerve was saved and in time things should improve. Initially i was so unwell with the facial paralysis as it caused such a lot of pain in my eye and head and no matter what different drops/ointments my doctor prescribed they were all so painful to use in my eye and none seemed to give relief even though i continued to use them. I had some bad chalazions (due to tear ducts not working) develop in the eye and on the eye lid too which didn't help but now my eye is a lot better. All my facial paralysis has gone, to any one else you can't tell i ever had it. Time is definately a healer! The only symptom i have now is a severe dry eye which i still have to use drops and night ointment for but it isn't so painful now, just gritty sometimes. When i think how rough i felt thinking it would never get better! Its great to start seeing a real difference now. Hopefully the same will be for you too, the body just needs a lot of time to get over the trauma on the nerves as it's such a big operation. Give it some more months and hopefully you will start to see some improvements soon too.

[Blappers in reply to Pinkrose1]

Hi Pinkrose1, It's so good to hear that you are better now. I have been prescribed drops, gels for the day and ointment to use at night. I was told that it will take time but it's good to hear from someone who went through it. Thank you.

[Pinkrose1 in reply to Blappers]

Take care, get lots of rest. Keep us updated in your recovery.

[Elephant0]

I had my surgery this year 15 June 2022 and had paralysed right side of my face 2 weeks on. It’s slowly moving now 3 weeks later. How long was your recovery??

[Pinkrose1]

Hi Elephant0, i'm so sorry to hear you have not been well since your op, it does take a long time to get over it. My paralysis started after i came home from the hospital too which the surgeon said was unusual. To be honest things are a bit of a blur now with dates but i remember i was in bed for 8 or 9 weeks as my head couldn't cope with any movement and i was constantly feeling so sick regardless of any different anti sickness tablets i was prescribed. I seemed to have been particularly slow in my recovery compared to others but i am now ok and i go walking every day for half an hour to keep my balance up. The facial paralysis started improving about 3 weeks after the paralysis first set in and i regained all the muscle movement after about 5/6 weeks. I suffered with very painful eye for much longer, it went on for about 8 months but now my eye is just gritty sometimes but doesn't really cause any pain. I still don't have any tears in that eye so i'm thinking it's probably permanent damage but i'm so grateful for the operation and the amazing surgeons. I hope you start feeling better soon. Glad you have your mom with you.