Dead Face

Shortly after my first surgery my husband and I started dating. We discovered during our courtship that I didn't have any feeling in my right ear. It was then dubbed the "dead ear." Eventually, I did gain some feeling back in it. However, I'm now told that I will never regain feeling in the new skin on my face so now we have "dead face."

We just returned from a very long day in Houston. We would have enjoyed the snow day much more had we stayed home than we did driving it in (and sitting in traffic!). I had two follow-up appointments today. Here's the summary:

Dr. Weber:
Pleased with the results. There are indicators with the slight movement I do have on the right side that everything will heal nicely. There's still a chance that I will have some permanent weakness in a few spots, but I can live with that. The greatest risk at this point is to my eye (more specifically, cornea) so I'm hoping I start blinking soon! Dr. Weber said the eye looks good so far, so the drops & ointment are doing the trick. He said that he had no idea how many tumors he took out, but that he took them out in one large mass. (I'll stick with the MRI report that counted at least 30.) The pathology report confirmed that everything is still benign. Yea! I asked about Frey Syndrome -- no sign of it yet. He said it could take 6 months for that to appear. I had another minor complaint... my wrist has been bothering me from the IV's. He said warm compresses & Advil. (Didn't seem like a big deal, but it's bothering me. Oh well.)

So, the big question of the day was radiation: to do or not to do? We're doing it. They'll set up an appointment for me to see the Radiation Oncologist in a couple of weeks to get the ball rolling. Ideally, radiation will STOP the tumor growth. Of course, there are no guarantees. Dr. Weber wants me to heal before getting started, but doesn't want to give the tumors time to start growing again. If they start growing, the radiation is much less effective. Dr. Weber doesn't think the radiation will slow the healing of the nerves.

There were a couple of things he said I should talk to Dr. Gidley about -- hearing & an ocassional sharp pain in my tongue when I drink something very cold. Guess I should get around to that, but not high on my list right now.

Go back in 8 weeks.

Dr. Skoracki:
The PA came in first and took out all the stitches in my face. Yea! Everything is healing nicely. Then Dr. S came in. I started out by telling him that I had a bone to pick with him. He told me to get in line! I informed him that I did not like being awakened in the OR after surgery. He said that he wanted to see me smile and I told him it was a bit unnerving to wake up in the OR. He said he'd make sure I have more drugs next time so I don't remember!

I had a list of questions so I'll just run through the answers...
*It's possible that I'll need a revision surgery on my leg & face. We'll wait at least 6 months to see how it all settles out. My leg pooches out a little bit at the top of the incision. My face may need to be re-contoured (or something like that).
*I can use any kind of cream or ointment on my scars that I choose in 2-3 weeks. He said the ointment doesn't really do anything, it's the massaging that helps.
*I can lie flat now as long as I can tolerate it and the swelling doesn't get too out-of-hand.
*I can turn my head a little more, but still don't overdo it. Can't lift it all the way up and shouldn't look over my shoulders.
*At first he said I had no limitations as far as my leg was concerned. Then he revised that saying I should not run or go to spin class or anything like that. Whew! I was just about to join a gym. Really. ha! However, he did say I can now soak in a tub. That's more like it!
*Most nerve function should return in about 6 weeks. He disagreed with Dr. Weber and said that radiation would slow it down.
*Radiation doesn't affect swelling, but it does shrink/firm tissue which will help the extra padding on dead face.
*If I am going to be on my feet for any length of time, I need to wear the Ace bandage on my leg to prevent fluid from building up.
*No restrictions on driving since I'm off the narcotics.
*He said the sharp pain in my leg that pops up on ocassion should be temporary and I can massage it out to help relieve the pain.
*I shouldn't lose any tone in my face since he expects the nerve loss to be short.
*The flap will always be discolored, but we can address other options later.
Go back in 4 weeks.