Nerve grafts bring smile to the faces of hemiplegics
In three patients with facial nerve lesions causing hemiparalysis— lower portion of face can be reanimated with a sensory nerve graft— connecting muscles on the paralyzed side to nerves on normal side
Tiny nerve autografts passed through the subcutaneous tissue of the upper lip can reanimate the lower part of the face of an individual suffering from hemiparalysis as a result of a facial nerve lesion.
The operation has been performed successfully in three patients.
"The muscles on the paralyzed side of the face are connected via a sensory nerve graft to the nerves that animate the muscles on the normal side of the face," said James W. Smith, MD, assistant professor of plastic surgery at Cornell University Medical Center, New York City.
"In essence, portions of the buccal and zygomatic nerve branches are re-routed and reconnected by this technique," he
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