Former Australian politician Nick Xenophon has revealed he underwent a seven-hour facial reanimation surgery aimed at restoring movement after a brain tumour left him with facial palsy and significantly weakened function on the right side of his face.
Speaking about the March 18 procedure, Xenophon said surgeons “peeled away the face to get to the muscles and also replumbed the nerves from the jaw,” adding that “the facial nerves are completely dead since the (brain) surgery.”
The operation also involved harvesting fascia from his hip to help reconstruct facial structure.
Xenophon said recovery would be long and uncertain, noting: “It’ll take a minimum of four months before the nerves start firing up, and then the process can take up to two years,” and adding, “I’ll never be the same. You might see a flicker of a smile in the next 12 months and that’s it. But in the meantime I’ll keep smiling on the inside.”
He described ongoing swelling and scarring, saying, “I look like a bad cover to a Cold Chisel song. It’s driving me crazy but I can’t shave at the moment,” due to a healing incision.
Despite the seriousness of his condition, Xenophon said he wanted to share his experience to offer hope to others with similar conditions, stating: “The reason I’m speaking out is that I want people to know that there is hope. This facial reanimation is relatively new in Australia.”
Xenophon, who was left functionally blind and deaf on his right side following brain surgery last August, said the procedure offers long-term potential even if recovery is slow.
He rose to prominence in South Australian politics in 1997 and later served in the federal Senate from 2007 to 2017, before an unsuccessful attempt to return to politics in 2022.
Source: The Advertiser.
