Pediatric Facial Paralysis
Facial paralysis in children can be triggered by infections, trauma, surgery, or many other causes. Sometimes, children are born with facial paralysis (called congenital facial paralysis). It can affect one or both sides of their face.
Facial paralysis can affect important functional abilities like blinking, eating, and speaking. If left untreated, it can cause issues with muscle atrophy and eye health. Most noticeably for many children, it can affect their confidence and willingness to socialize with peers .
Facial Reanimation Treatment
Facial movement is an important part of both verbal and non-verbal communication. When children have facial paralysis, they aren’t able to communicate in these ways. That can leave them feeling isolated from their peers.
With facial reanimation treatment, we can help children gain the functional movements they need to communicate better. For us, success looks like a natural and spontaneous smile. Our facial nerve expertise and microsurgical excellence allow us to fashion the new muscle and nerve pathways needed to create this movement.
The process of facial reanimation can be different based on:
- What caused their facial paralysis
- Their age
- The severity of the paralysis
- What parts of their face are affected
- Other medical conditions
To form a treatment plan that’s right for your child, we’ll need to evaluate them.
Early Diagnostics & Treatment Plan Formation
We recommend bringing a child to us as soon as facial paralysis is noticed. While we won’t be able to treat every child right away, this keeps treatment options open. Some causes of paralysis are time sensitive where earlier treatment improves outcomes. Others don’t depend on timing, so it may be best to let your child grow for a while before treatment. We can map out which nerves and muscles are affected and work with your family to form a plan to treat your child’s condition.
Some of the treatments we may consider include:
- Nerve transfer
- Nerve grafting
- Gracilis muscle flap surgery
- Temporalis tendon transfer
- Eyelid weight placement
- Botox treatments
Almost all treatments will also come with an expectation of continuing recovery through physical therapy. We have specially trained physical therapist with expertise in facial paralysis treatment who will help your child during the recovery process.
Recovery & Outlook
Facial reanimation is a process, and one we’re here to help your family navigate. Seeing patients as soon as possible helps us outline a treatment plan everyone is comfortable with and figure out a timeline. While many children, especially those born with congenital facial paralysis, may need to wait for restorative treatment, we can provide help and support now.
Most children recover from facial paralysis with no lasting effects. With early treatment, the psychosocial effects of facial paralysis can be minimized.