Droopy Smile After Facelift, Puffiness Underneath Eyes and Numbness After 19months

I had a face/neck, upper lids/lower lids about 19months ago. I still have numbness on my right side, a little numbness on my left, and my neck; is this normal? On my left side my smile is somewhat crooked, as if I have novacane. My eyes especially on one side (r) look as though it has an indention between the eye and cheekbone. Is there anything that can be done about my slightly drooping smile and is it okay to let this doctor redo his work (correct) my eyes, can he fix my smile? Thank you

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5 Doctor Answers | Asked by Love11 in Midlothian, TX

Doctor Answers (5)
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Possible Injury/Nerve Damage

Pictures would help, but based on your description, a crooked smile usually means injury, partial or complete facial nerve damage which may or may not return completely and can take up to two years post surgery to recover. The numbness takes a variable time to recover but eventually most people have return to normal sensation. Botox can sometimes help with the asymmetry of your smile. A filler or fat injection may help with the indentation. Your plastic surgeon if well... more

Nerve damage 19 months after facelift is difficult to treat

It sounds like the sensory nerves to your ears/neck were injured, as well as the motor nerve (facial nerve) to a certain degree. There is probably not much that can be done to help with the numbness. With regards to your asymmetric smile, botox may help. I would suggest you seek a second opinion at this point. With the indentation, fat or filler may be helpful. Again, I would at least seek another opinion before proceeding with you original doctor. Good... more

Facial asymetry after face lift

It is not normal to have significant persistent facial nerve weakness 19 months after a facelift. Although there may still be a chance for full spontaneous recovery, I would suggest consulting with a facial or general plastic surgeon specializing in evaluation and repair of facial nerve weakness or injury to perform EMG study to evaluate the specific branch

May be some nerve damage

Nerve damage is a not uncommon complication of facelifting. Usually it is transient. Nerves can recover up to two years after the injury, so there may still be some improvement. If your doctor has good before and after photos of eyelids that look like yours that he has repaired, then you can guess that he can improve your eyelid problem. But a second opinion from on oculoplastic specialist might be helpful.

Droopy Smile 19 months After Facelift

It is very difficult to answer your question without seeing your pictures – you should consider posting images showing your areas of concern. Based on your description it appears that you may have some nerve weakness.