Dr. Sam Lam Plastic Surgery Forum

I read an article on subcision at it said it could cause facial nerve damage which kinda scared me...Is this complication likely?? Is it more dangerous to do subcision on the forehead(thats where my scarring is)? Also do you perform subcision?...I really want to have this done but the article scared me a bit.

p.s. If anyone is interested you can download the article here, http://www.4shared.com/document/8sb4qCp_/fulltext.html

hi,
thanks for sharing. i rarely perform subcision as i find it does not help that much in most acne scars. in other types of tethered scars featured in the article, that makes more sense. i think nerve damage across the entire face is pretty unlikely since nerves emanate very deep below the muscle except in the temple region where they lie more superficially. in that one area and also under the mandible (jawbone) the nerve can lie more superficially. in the cheek, you should be fine. in the central forehead, the nerve is a bit variable but theoretically could be injured if coming up right over the eyelid area where it terminates. it depends on the exact location but in general it is pretty hard to damage facial nerves with subcision technique in most of the face.

dr. lam wrote:hi,
thanks for sharing. i rarely perform subcision as i find it does not help that much in most acne scars. in other types of tethered scars featured in the article, that makes more sense. i think nerve damage across the entire face is pretty unlikely since nerves emanate very deep below the muscle except in the temple region where they lie more superficially. in that one area and also under the mandible (jawbone) the nerve can lie more superficially. in the cheek, you should be fine. in the central forehead, the nerve is a bit variable but theoretically could be injured if coming up right over the eyelid area where it terminates. it depends on the exact location but in general it is pretty hard to damage facial nerves with subcision technique in most of the face.

My scarring is right in the middle of my forehead, they look like broad dents rather than small pock marks...Anyway thanks for your input, very reassuring!

that area is typically quite safe in the right hands. you are welcome!