Dear Dr. Seckel, I had a face lift 4 months ago. Now my upper right lip doesn’t move properly. When I try to pucker my lips the right upper lip doesn’t pucker. When I press my upper lip to my lower lip and put pressure on it the middle of my upper lip moves to the left quite a bit which does not look very good. It is difficult for me to eat. My upper right lip will move upwards and my smile is fine. My surgeon told me that he may have damaged my orbicularis oris muscle during the surgery. He explained to me that he separated my skin from the corner of my mouth up to my ear to allow him to try to minimize a wrinkle that was at the corner of my mouth. I saw some improvement in my upper lip during the first couple of months but have not seen any improvement for over a month. The right side of my face is still numb in several places. Will my upper lip improve with more time? Can this condition be permanent? Thank you in advance for your reply. Sherri, Dana Point, CA
Dear Sheri,
Most likely the buccal branch of the facial nerve was injured during your face lift.
Fortunately buccal branch injuries recover because of generous additional nerve branches in the cheek area, however recovery can take many months. This creates a problem because the inactive muscle around the lip undergoes atrophy and when the new nerve branches reach the muscle, the muscle cannot respond to the regenerated nerve.
To keep the muscle healthy while waiting for the nerve to re grow I use DC (direct current) electrical stimulation. I use a hand held device which the patient uses at home to make the muscle contract 2-3 times a day.
If you would like to learn more about this therapy please call my office at 978-369-4499.
You may also learn more about facial nerve injury during face lift by reading my book “Facial Danger Zones”.
You may read more about the face lift procedure on my website or by reading Save Your Face.
Concord, Massaxchusetts
Boston, Massachusetts