Options from Cleveland

As mentioned in my previous post, my particular set of strong vs weak nerve/muscle groups is pretty unique. When we saw the doctor in Cleveland, he said he was not surprised that others had said they wouldn't do anything.  He also did not recommend doing a muscle transfer thinking it would be too bulky since I already have a muscle mass from the corner of my mouth to my ear.

His recommendation is to take the sheath (outer lining of a muscle) from above my ear, in the temple area of my head) and use that sheath to make a tendon.  He would then connect my upper lip and nose with that tendon to the muscle that is working.  The benefits of this approach is that the surgery is 2 hours, and it would be a natural smile.  (Meaning I wouldn't have to train my brain or do any physical therapy; the muscle I already have would be doing all the work to correct my upper lip and nose.)

Below is a picture that attempts to show what they are thinking about.

One of the funnier moments of the Cleveland appointment was when I asked the doctor if he would have to shave my head to get the muscle sheath needed for the surgery   The doctor responded, "We are plastic surgeons, we don't shave anything."

I asked how long I would be out of soccer and he said only a week or two.

I was very surprised by his recommendation.  Everything I'd read online was about taking parts of the leg to aid movement, the idea that he wouldn't cut into my leg at all is very appealing.

We felt so confident and comfortable in Cleveland, I asked my mom, "Do we even need to go to Boston?"