SUCCESSFUL FACIAL RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY I just want to say that I have had moebius for all of my 36 years and on Oct.11th of this year I had facial reconstructive surgery. The operation is a success. I had it done by a doctor called Elliott Rose in NYC. Although the swelling hasn't gone down completely, I can tell that my face is very symmetrical now. The doctor did a muscle transfer, connecting part of my chewing muscle to my lip and I start physical therapy to learn how to use it to smile. He also operated in a sling, which holds up the corners of my mouth and he did an eye and nose tuck so everything is elevated. The right side of my face has always been paralyzed so it is such a thrill for me to have a face that doesn't droop on one side anymore. I was a little uneasy at first but now I am so thrilled. My face used to get tired at night and droop even more. If I had alcohol, the drooping was even worse. Also, the fact that the paralyzed half of my face was flat used to bother me a lot but now that I have had the muscle transfer, it has filled out and looks like it is the same size as my left side. I still cannot lift my eyebrows but I am having botox injected into the "active" side so that it will not be so obvious. I am grateful to Dr. Rose for being a perfectionist on my behalf! I will try to send pictures when my recovery is complete. Right now it has been 3 weeks and I think pictures will be more helpful when the swelling and bruising have gone away. The Doctors name is Dr. Elliott Rose and his phone number is 212-639-1346 and he is on 79th and Park in NYC. He operates on a lot of children too who have had brain tumors removed and have become paralyzed as a consequence. He is really a perfectionist. Anyone is welcome to e-mail me if they have any questions. I am thrilled so far with the improvements and would be happy to help anyone who needs to talk about it. Good luck to all of you out there!
Take care, UPDATE 12-14-01 I am feeling better and I am now doing my physical therapy. It has been 2 months now. I am trying to use my "new" temporalis muscle but I have to admit I don't like the way it looks. I am going to give it some time but the way it looks now is not really better than the paralysis. It is very forced and looks rather grotesque. I have noticed that poeple look a bit frightened when I try to activate it. What is an improvement is the symmetry of my face. One drawback is unfortunately a large dent in my temple from where the doctor took the muscle. I can cover it with my hair but I really don't know what a man would do except grow long hair! I have also been having chronic headaches located near that temple area. I still have a very swollen face, too. I hope all this does not sound too negative but I feel it is important to let people who are considering this surgery that there are definite down sides to the surgery. I will see if I can dig up a before picture. I think you need that to determine if there really is an improvement.
Thanks for your interest, UPDATE 6-15-02 Hello there I want to update you on my surgery. I have gotten some great e-mails from people interested in the surgery so I feel I have to also tell you the down side of it because, of course, nothing is perfect. It has been 7 months since I was operated on and all in all I am happy with the results. The symmetry of my face has greatly improved. I have an indentation in my temple where the muscle was taken from. The doctor mentioned this in passing but it is actually very noticable and not in the hair as he said it would be. It looks like a deformity. I feel much better but the temple area is really sore and the muscle makes me look like I have one enormous cheek bone and one normal one. A stranger actually asked me if Ihad gotten hit with a hockey puck!! I can recommend my operation but please be aware that it is by no means perfect. I don't like to use the muscle because although it elevates the lip, it does not look natural yet(it could get there) and it is a bit like a snarl. Thanks for all the kind e-mails and good luck to everyone
Sincerely,
. |
