Q: My wife has undergone surgery for left acoustic neuroma. She has recovered after surgery except for the facial palsy. She is undergoing physiotherapy. How long will it take for her to recover from the facial palsy as anatomically her nerve is preserved in surgery?

A:If the facial nerve is anatomically intact, there is usually an available degree of return of function of the nerve depending on the perioperative handling of the nerve, and postoperative oedema and any damage to the nerve sustained because of the same. The nerve usually continues to show recovery till almost two years (rapid improvement initially and slow thereafter. The improvement will depend on the continued physiotherapy, as even if the nerve is good, without physiotherapy, there may be no recovery at all.