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10 Months Post-op Facelift. Unable to Involuntarily Blink Right Eye.

asked 3 months ago by Linda in SC
Latest answer by Sam Naficy, MD
Question viewed 172 times
Tags: age 65-74, female, 10 months post-op, blink, paralysis, video

This is a follow-up of my previous question here.

video of right eye blinking.first 2 voluntary. last one involuntary

8 answers to 10 Months Post-op Facelift. Unable to Involuntarily Blink Right Eye.

+2

Facial weakness after face lift

Sorry for your troubles Linda. You will be surprised to find that this (though slowly) will continue to improve. I can't give you an exact time line but if you've had improvement thus far it should continue. There's not much to do at the moment except ensure your eye is well cared for and protected at night. I would be a good idea to get an evaluation with an ophthalmologist for your eye alone. This is to have a baseline evaluation in the event... more
Chase Lay, MD

Bay Area Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.chaselaymd.com

+2

Weak/absent blinking after facelift

You do appear to have symptoms of facial nerve injury on your right side, either due to the surgery or possibly unrelated (viral, Bell's palsy, etc). Some ongoing recovery is expected over time. As the previous surgeon mentioned, professional eye care is extremely important to prevent eye infection due to incomplete blinking causing dryness of the cornea. When your recovery plateaus, if need be, a small gold weight can be implanted into the right eyelid to allow much more normal... more
Laxmeesh Mike Nayak, MD

Saint Louis Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.nayakplasticsurgery.com

+2

Unable to blink after facelift

Sorry to hear you are having a problem. It sounds as though you have an injury to one of the nerves in the face that connect to the facial muscles. With that type of injury the muscle involved is either weak or it does not work at all. Some recovery id good and as long as there is recovery I would wait also. Inability to blink, however, could lead to problems with exposure of the cornea. It is a good idea to use drops during the day and a nighttime preparation... more
Ralph R. Garramone, MD

Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon
+1

R facial weakness after a lift

It appears that you have right sided facial weakness and synkinesis. These types of nerve injury can be caused by a number of conditions as well as possibly the result of a face lift
Sam Naficy, MD

Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

10 Months Post-op Facelift. Unable to Involuntarily Blink Right Eye.

What you are seeing can be due to a nerve injury during the facelift, if that is the case it can take up to one year to resolve. It can also be, but less likely, a Bell’s Palsy type of nerve irritation which is usually a viral cause, that can persist for long periods of time and might never get better.
Julio Garcia, MD

Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon

lvcosmeticsurgery.com

+1

Post-Facelift

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. If your ability to blink is improving, it would be advisable to watch and wait. However, it will be important that you use eye lubricant such as lacrilube to keep the eye moist as well as to tape the eye closed shut at night to prevent development of any eye problems. It is possible that this will resolve with time. Please keep close follow up with your surgeon.
Kimberly Lee, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Involuntary Blink Right Eye 10 Months Post Facelift

The key for me is the fact that you continue to improve while using conservative measures to avoid complications secondary to eyelid dysfunction. As long as you are improving, I would not do anything different. Hopefully function will return to normal after your facial nerve paresis resolves.
Richard W. Fleming, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

At 10 months after surgery, recovery of this weakness is improbable.

I recommend that you get assessed by an oculoplastic surgeon. This is a subspecialty plastic surgeon who is board certified in general ophthalmology and has completed fellowship training in oculofacial surgery. They have the training, skill, experience, and equipment to formally examine the cornea surface and determine how the lack of eyelid function is affecting the corneal surface. They will also be able to monitor the success of measures aimed at supporting the health of... more
Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD

Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon

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