Introduction Facial palsy may cause functional, aesthetic, psychological, and social consequences. The commonest cause, Bell’s palsy, will affect approximately 1 in 60 of the population over a lifetime, with almost 70% of these patients not fully recovering. Regardless of the…
Introduction Facial palsy is a devastating event in a patient’s life and can result in disfiguring permanent flaccid paralysis or synkinesis, a long-lasting muscle discoordination caused by aberrant facial nerve regeneration. Synkinesis generates both hypertonicity of recovered muscles and also…
Introduction Facial paralysis and its sequela is a complex medical issue that can be both physically and emotionally distressing. Patients may present to us at any time along the continuum of their recovery or lack of recovery. In addition to…
Introduction “Societal interest in appearance has a long history,” and today this seems more important than ever. Social media, the importance of “the perfect picture,” and the desire and possibilities to change and enhance the body create more unrest and…
The neural activity responsible for voluntary facial expression relies on an intricate set of interconnections distributed across multiple cortical facial motor areas, the amygdala, and other subcortical areas. The target end-organs for this intricate neural system are the facial muscles…
Introduction The facial nerve, also known as the seventh cranial nerve, combines motor, general sensory, special sensory, and autonomic (visceral) components. The intricate course of the facial nerve as it runs intracranially, intratemporally, and extratemporally is essential for any surgeon…
INTRODUCTION For the purpose of this chapter, the term vascular lesion or vascular anomaly is used to define a variety of cutaneous neoplasms and malformations originating from blood vessels and related structures. Owing to major differences in prognosis and treatment…
INTRODUCTION The definition of a scar in Webster’s dictionary is a “mark left after injured tissue has healed.” Any full-thickness injury of the skin, planned or unplanned, will leave a scar. It is the body’s way of repairing itself. Although…
INTRODUCTION Complications associated with surgery are perhaps nowhere more apparent and devastating than when they occur on the face. Conley spoke of surgical complications by saying, “These untoward events, unpredictable, and unwanted, lurk in all surgical arenas, in the biologic…
INTRODUCTION During the past three decades, many reconstructive surgical procedures have been developed or improved, providing a functional and aesthetic benefit. Among these, tissue expansion offers a unique potential to preserve both form and function. One of the major benefits…