Facial Nerve Protection

A facelift provides individuals with the opportunity to defy their age and roll back the hands of time. A facelift has the ability to erase wrinkles and sagging skin and leave the patient with a gorgeous look. However, a facelift procedure does have its potential risks as well; one of those risks are damage to the facial nerves. Damage to these nerves can leave the patient unable to move the muscles of the face and can have an unfortunate impact on quality of life. It takes a skilled surgeon like board-certified and award-winning plastic surgeon, Dr. Kevin Sadati to prevent facial nerve paralysis. Safety is always a top priority and with Dr. Sadati’s advanced techniques, the facial nerve can be protected.

What are the Facial Nerves?

The facial nerves are the bodies’ way of communicating with the muscles and glands of the face. As the facial nerve emerges out of the skull, it passes through parotid gland and branches out near the lower ear into five main nerves, temporal, zygomatic, buccal, marginal mandibular, and cervical nerves. These nerves are what allow you to do things like smile, frown, and blink. They are even involved in the sense of taste and the production of tears. When one of these nerves are damaged, the brain has no way of communicating with the muscles of the face. Therefore, it is important for a surgeon to protect those nerves in order to preserve that function.

How Do Surgeons Protect the Facial Nerve?

During a facelift the surgeon is mainly working within the SMAS or the superficial muscular aponeurotic system, which lies just under the skin and initial layer of fat. The SMAS is what the plastic surgeon uses to perform the facelift. So where are the facial nerves? The facial nerve starts deep in the facial layers and emerge closer to the skin as it develops. As the surgeon dissects through the layers of the skin it takes years of experience and knowledge to be able to understand the complexity of these facial nerves. Dr. Sadati’s advanced techniques and skill allow for him to dissect around these facial nerves without damaging them in the process.