Cosmetic surgery to repair facial paralysis

We use cookies and similar tools to give you the best website experience. By using our site, you accept our digital privacy statement. Read our updated information about wearing a mask for your visit. NYU Langone neurotologists, neurosurgeons, and plastic surgeons, all of whom specialize in disorders that affect the nerves connecting the face and the brain, offer a variety of sophisticated surgical procedures—some pioneered at NYU Langone—that restore facial symmetry and reanimate, or restore movement to, the facial muscles. Reanimation surgery may be needed when a paralyzed facial nerve does not recover.

Try out PMC Labs and tell us what you think. Learn More. The management of facial paralysis is one of the most complex areas of reconstructive surgery. Given the wide variety of functional and cosmetic deficits in the facial paralysis patient, the reconstructive surgeon requires a thorough understanding of the surgical techniques available to treat this condition. For acute facial paralysis, the main surgical therapies are facial nerve decompression and facial nerve repair.

At Penn Medicine, our plastic surgeons use the very latest reconstructive procedures to restore function, symmetry and appearance for those with facial paralysis, or weakness on one side of the face. We not only treat the peripheral effects of facial nerve damage but also repair the facial nerve itself. Our facial paralysis program is developing new cutting-edge treatments including harvesting nerves from other parts of the body to repair the injured nerves of the face. Our surgeons are also using small tubes surgically implanted in the face to guide regrowth of the facial nerve and seeing excellent results. Every form of facial paralysis is different, as is every patient.

Andre Panossian is an internationally-recognized expert in the treatment of facial paralysis and addresses virtually all causes of facial nerve disorder. There are many ways to categorize the causes of facial paralysis, but most are based on facial nerve injury, compression, or inflammation. The facial nerve can be injured anywhere along its path from the brainstem all the way into the facial muscles themselves.