48-year-old female patient who received a fat graft:
"I'm very happy with the surgical result, it's healed well."
After the treatment, the patient wrote the following: "Your treatment gave me much more self-confidence. My environment also noticed this. I am now asked about a much improved symmetry. My friends, acquaintances and strangers react very positively to the changes. I now put on make-up much more often and also go out much more often".
68-year-old female patient who received a free functioning muscle transplant and a static sling procedure and face lift in one operation:
In my experience, the surgeon, my doctor in charge, Dr. Kehrer, is very competent, professional, always friendly and extremely courteous.
"The operation went to my complete satisfaction and even now, after 7 weeks, you can already see the SUCCESS.
Dr. Kehrer is also very conscientious during the follow-up examinations and takes enough time! It is indeed complicated because of a follow-up examination the long way ... to drive, but it is always worth it.
I have already undergone 10 operations, some large ones (elsewhere), so I know what I'm talking about."
43-year-old female patient with complete, irreversible Bell's palsy, who received nerve rearrangement and nerve transplantation:
"Her surgery has improved the following for me: more mobility in the entire half of my face. Better resting tone, more towards symmetry. The most important thing for me: I can smile again with my mouth closed, you can look friendly again. My drinking from glasses of any kind has also improved considerably.
87-year-old female patient who received static suspension, tissue tightening, eyebrow lifting, insertion of an adapted platinum weight into the upper lid and lower lid correction, and tumor resection of the nose with reconstruction of the nose tip with a Marchac flap reconstruction (several procedures):
"During our first ... At our first meeting in January 2015, I told you that I had undergone four operations due to an angulated bridge tumor. You promised me that my eye would get bigger (Pat was previously under treatment elsewhere) and my mouth would close if you operated on me. I am very satisfied with the result of your operation... About half a year later, during your follow-up examination, you will find a skin cancer on your nose. You operated on me again and offered me to come to you every three months for a check-up. I am very grateful for your attention and commitment to me.
29-year-old patient with discrete synkinesis and congenital ptosis (drooping of the upper eyelid) who has undergone levator advancement surgery:
Since the operation by Dr. Kehrer on the levator of my left eye, I have experienced not only a cosmetic improvement but also, among other things, a significant increase in the field of vision. What immediately struck me was that I was now much more sensitive to light on the left side, because this was more or less new for my eye, not immediately visible through the overly drooping eyelid little or nothing. Also the blinking was at the beginning only little pronounced, so that I often felt a burning in the eye. In connection with the prescribed ergotherapy for the strengthening of the eye muscles, as well as the "neuro-feedback"-treatment for the adjustment of the eye activity, initiated by the therapist, the handling of my eye with sunlight radiation as well as a considerable improvement of my spatial vision improved noticeably until now. This is most noticeable in football, where I can now assess high balls etc. much better. And also the blinking has normalized meanwhile. Looking back, I am very satisfied with the decision to dare the operation. The symptoms of my congenital "eyelid weakness", like the movement of the eyelid when chewing, are difficult to recognize.
Email of a 43-year-old patient who, 3.5 months after his operation (nerve transfer combined with nerve grafting), can already begin to control his previously functionless facial muscles again:
"The light smile works without biting at all. They are also only very slight movements. But in view of the short time very pleasing!....I already practice in front of the mirror, but not for hours. I claim it is getting better all the time. I notice consciously that I feel more and more secure in everyday life and approach people more openly again. That is already a great feeling! I would like to present it to you ....once again live!
Parents of a 9-year-old boy whom they presented with a Bell’s palsy for advice on surgical options:
"...otherwise I would like to thank you afterwards for the good advice you gave us despite all the stress. We found it extremely positive that at no time did you give us the impression of having to undergo surgery, but that you assessed the situation in a technically sober manner. In today's world, in which some clinics are more concerned with economic aspects than with patients, you have been a shining example of how things can be different. Please stay as you are and continue as you are".
Parents of an 8-year-old girl with congenital facial paralysis who has undergone the first surgical step of a nerve graft as part of a two-stage reconstruction (followed by a free functional muscle transplant):
"Melanie (name changed) is very happy to see you again in January. And, thanks to you, she is not afraid of the next operation at all..."
E-mail of a 35-year-old patient who was looking for an adequate therapy for almost one year:
"...many thanks to you and your team for the excellent website, which is very comprehensive and well-founded and summarizes all facets about facial paralysis. Unfortunately, I only came across this page a few days ago, which gave me a lot of courage as a sufferer ...".
57-year-old female patient who has suffered from Bell's palsy, who came forward in her early phase and whom we advise against an operation:
"Thank you very much for your quick reply, which was very helpful for me. Above all, your words were psychologically very supportive for me. Fortunately, my paralysis has improved considerably. I can now close my eye well again after three weeks."
Sent by E-mail:
...first of all many thanks for your very successful website on the subject of facial nerve paresis!
As a speech therapist in an acute home, I am often confronted with patients suffering from facial nerve paresis and I am happy to receive so much valuable information. I have learned a lot! In the future I will always point out your resources to the patients as well as to colleagues from different disciplines.
Sent by E-mail:
"Dear team of experts!
At this point first of all a big praise for this site, which is not only very informative but also gives new hope to people like me. From birth on I suffer from a Faczialisparese li. At the beginning it was said, that would grow out .... Which was not the case ... Subsequently it was explained to us that one could operate only at the age of 18 years. This was rejected at the age of 20/25 years 2x categorically...Therefore I take now after many years again attempt, in the hope to find the appropriate help with you...!".
A 74-year-old female patient with complete facial paralysis who received temporalis muscle transfer:
"... to the facial surgery. My attending physician was Dr. Kehrer. My condition after the operation: the half of the face has improved, the mouth and cheek have normalized and the facial expression has balanced out. My feeling of life has improved with it."
A young patient who has been given a chemo reservation (by email):
"Overall, I am very pleased with the results of the treatment. I have the impression that the smile on the left side feels wider and at the same time more relaxed. I also like the relaxation of the chin muscles when laughing (without the unsightly wrinkles/pits) much better".
A 36-year-old female patient with complete paresis on both sides after tumor surgery, who has received a small muscle transplant on both sides (by email)
"There is indeed a good improvement. . . The left muscle moves completely when I bite my teeth. I came to tighten the corner of my mouth a little bit and you can see that the muscle moves. ....... This movement is also seen by my environment, my speech therapist or even my neurologist. I can feel it very well myself. Of course, this is now gradually developing and I continue to wait and see, but something is happening. I also speak much better: for example when I pronounce the "U". A "P" I now no longer pronounce as "T" but as "P" . My speech therapist now practices specifically with me. . . . I am very happy about this. It is also sometimes confusing, because after 9 years I can move my left side again. ......On both sides I had no more inflammation of the eyes, also I have to moisten the eyes artificially much less now..."
A 65-year-old female patient (by email):
"I tolerated the Botox treatment well.
My face has already changed positively. The neck has also lost a lot of tension. The eye is almost not watering anymore. Because the eye is now more open, the dizziness is gone and reading is better. I no longer need to hold the eye when reading. When eating, the eye/mouth contraction has also improved considerably. The constant saliva flow is completely gone. The chin looks good."
A young patient with synkinesis who has received a Botox treatment (by email):
"...again many thanks for the detailed consultation ! I have felt very well taken care of by you.
I am very satisfied with the results of the Botox treatment. Especially the immobility of the forehead improves the symmetry... Surprisingly, I also see a slight improvement at the corner of my mouth ...I would not have thought that the Botox treatment is to be seen here. A good friend even asked me already 3 days after the treatment if my face had become "better". I would therefore like to continue working with Botox."
A 36 year old female patient with complete paresis on both sides after tumor surgery who received a small muscle transplant on both sides, lower eyelid lift on both sides and platinum weights in both upper eyelids (by email):
"...there was a great Verbesserung️. I am really happy. Already after one week it looked much better, the eyelid closure is now almost complete. I also had to learn to close my eyes again, that was quite difficult and pleasant, but not a long thing. Which is also very nice that I can finally bat my eyelashes again... by the way everything was great after the surgery. I was totally astonished that this one, unlike the others, was really a piece of cake. Since the operation I have taken a paracetamol and an Ibu. Very well cooled, watched little TV, read little or generally did not strain my eyes. It also feels good. Great work as always.
The improvements are:
- Food
- Drinking
- Breathing in general and that breathing through the nose again completely possible.
- Because the mouth is closed more and I can breathe through the nose, my trigeminal neuralgia is no longer triggered. The attacks are very rare.
- A smile is possible again and meanwhile even mostly involuntary, which means I don't have to think about biting my teeth anymore. Often it is possible without biting my teeth...
My psyche has also improved through the improvements. I have become more open, I trust myself more... I have more motivation and can encourage myself especially in difficult phases. …. People are more friendly towards me, that doesn't mean that the problem was with the people, it was actually no problem in that sense. How do you know that someone has paralysis and is not unfriendly? You wouldn't think so, especially when someone is so young. Now it is different, because I can smile at people again or smile back, which is very important. I can give expression to my inner being, show my emotions and thus also build up interpersonal relationships faster. This shapes my social life, it also promotes my autonomy. My language is also a bit better, which is very important, as a deaf person, communication is already very difficult and difficult if you cannot express yourself clearly. This creates new obstacles in everyday life and also makes you feel lonely, as well as it takes away possibilities and minimizes the variety of possibilities. Speaking is already better, but still limited by the mouth. Through all these changes, which I was able to achieve through the Ops, my life has changed very positively...I am an open person again, who rarely hides his facial expressions. I laugh again with all my heart and do not put my hand in front of my mouth. The feeling of shame, nervousness and fear have already diminished a lot. I have gained new/old self-confidence. What was taken from me in a traumatic way, what I didn't have for almost 10 years, no one can give me back, but the next years will come. I am very grateful to you for this, you have given me back the feeling of my old life, something familiar and even better, a future I would like to have. My environment has also noticed all this. ... I am happy to be able to express myself again with a new face, with my acquired facial expressions. I no longer have to be 2 people. Once the inside and what I can show to the outside. Now I can live in my familiar surroundings and create a new environment without having any great inhibitions or fear. It is so much easier through this. I could still write so much..."
54-year-old patient who received lipofilling and static suspension
"I am really thrilled with the result of the surgery, finally I can breathe through both nostrils again and - what I would not have thought - by correcting the lip it is now possible for me to drink normally from a cup! No more dribbling or running down my chin, a whole new quality of life!"
A 24-year-old female patient with incomplete paralysis who wanted a functional and aesthetic consultation (via email):
"... Thank you again for your patience and time yesterday. You really did my soul good. You were kind, honest and above all understanding ! Great doctor, great person, a pleasure to have met you..."
A 43 years old female patient who suffered from a complete palsy after a tumor resection. She had received a neurotization and a facelift:
"...now 3 weeks have passed since the surgery and I would like to thank you again from the bottom of my heart for your work.
The swelling on the face has already gone down well and you have given the face back some symmetry. I am very happy about that because now I am not ashamed anymore when I have to go out of the house. My children are especially happy about it because it gives them back a bit of normality as well."
By email: a 31-year-old patient who received a free functional muscle transplant:
"It is a nice, unfamiliar feeling to be able to induce movement in the paralyzed side and a full smile again after more than 20 years of facial paresis and only 50% facial expression! Am very grateful to you and your work. "
A 47-year-old patient who has already had several procedures for functional and aesthetic improvement:
"The sutures continue to be absolutely uneventful and the wounds are healing very well. By reshaping the nasolabial fold, the face has gained soooo much symmetry, that makes me really happy!!!! Therefore, from the bottom of my heart, simply THANK YOU Dr. Kehrer for your great work and also for the fact that one feels very much in your hands and comfortable at all times. That makes so much difference!"
A 57-year-old female patient who underwent selective neurectomy, denervation of the mentalis muscle, and partial platysma resection:
"Dear Dr. Kehrer,
now that five weeks have passed since my surgery, I would like to give you an interim update. First of all, many, many thanks for your help. My constant pulling, pressure and pains on the left side of my face have almost completely disappeared; they only occur when I try hard to laugh extremely hard. It is the same with my feeling of being constantly underwater with my left ear. This has also improved a lot. All this means a great relief for me, which I owe only to you! THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!"
A 23-year-old female patient with synkinesia after differential Botox injection:
"Hello Dr Kehrer,
Attached is the promised photo update! The pictures were taken about 1.5 weeks after the injection. It turned out so well, so far the best result, in my opinion! The corner of the mouth goes up very finely, eye hardly pulls with can still close quite well and makes no unnatural open shape ... Nasolabial fold much more symmetrical and forehead pulls less on the eye. Face looks much more relaxed again..."
A 40-year-old female patient who received Botox therapy for synkinesia (via email):
"Hello Dr. Kehrer, I was supposed to check in after 14 days with Botox and send pictures. It worked great again and my eye is bigger again and when talking the right eye does not close and also when I am doing a kissing mouth. The eye also closes completely, it was not too much."
A 57-year-old patient who received selective myoneurectomy (selective neurolysis) for synkinesis as an operation:
"Hello Dr. Kehrer,
it is finally time for me to get back to you and sincerely thank you for the regained quality of life. If you had told me in our conversations in the months before that surgery had little chance of success, I would have resigned myself to my situation and been fine with that. Now I am doing very well and I am more than happy about your persuasiveness, thank you very much!!! The healing process is progressing well."
via Email: 50-year-old female patient with complete flaccid paralysis after acoustic neuroma surgery who presented very late (16 months) for nerve reconstruction (neurotization):
"...First I would like to say thank you for making such a difference already with your two surgeries!!!! My face already looks very different at rest and that helps immensely considering how I looked at our 1st appointment. Of course, still only the short smile with teeth clenched tightly works, but it goes and that is already sooooo much for me...I smile a little, albeit with a lot of effort by biting teeth :) I'm curious to see what else may happen until then and what you say when we meet again...."
A 49 year old female patient who received multiple medical and aesthetic surgeries (via email):
“Even though I have already told you this personally, once again a very heartfelt, big thank you to your excellent work, but also simply to you that you have remained so completely human despite this professional know-how!”
A 42-year-old female patient who has received multiple procedures (via email):
"Please allow me one more piece of feedback at the end. I had the pleasure of seeing you interact with another patient this week and find your communication skills very remarkable. With figurative language, light wit and charm you can be very reassuring and do good!
In any case, I wish you all the best and thank you very much for all you have already done for me."
A 63-year-old female patient with complete facial paralysis who underwent extensive nerve reconstruction (nerve transfers), transplantation of connective tissue from the thigh, implantation of a platinum weight, reconstruction of her drooping lower eyelid and endoscopic lift of the periorbital complex (brow complex) (by email):
"I can only say thank you, thank you, thank you again and again for the operations you have performed and the results you have achieved!"
A 23-year-old female patient who is studying medicine (by email):
"Here are the latest pictures after the Botox treatment four weeks ago. The chin, cheek area, the symmetry of both eyes and the forehead have made a positive impression on me. The involuntary closure of the eyelids when laughing, yawning etc. has fortunately been significantly reduced by the treatment of the orbicularis oculi muscle. I am very much looking forward to my next appointment and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your commitment, time and professional expertise. Receiving regular treatment and being taken seriously is beneficial and is already helping to improve the overall situation. Thank you very much and have a nice rest of the Sunday!"
A 47-year-old female patient from Berlin with synkinesia after a targeted Botox treatment (by email):
"Dear Prof. Dr. Kehrer,
I am more than happy with the result.
After the Botox started working, I couldn't get away from the mirror because I was so enthusiastic.
The best thing is that my left eye is now bigger again and doesn't move when I speak... no longer moves with me when I speak.
When I talk a lot, my mouth is a bit tight.
Nevertheless, I'm very happy and it's a new attitude to life.
Many, many thanks for that!"
a 24-year-old patient with facial nerve palsy after Botox treatment:
Overall I am very satisfied, even more so when I put today's pictures next to the ones from before the first treatment. I am very grateful to you for that!
Thank you and I really appreciate your effort and support. Thank you very much for your being and your work!