Botox Injections to Protect the Eye After Brain Tumor Surgery
Original title: Botulinum Neurotoxin for Postoperative Facial Nerve Paralysis: A Technical Note.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
Botulinum toxin is already approved and doctors give it today, and this was a look back at care patients had already received.
The short version
Doctors used botulinum toxin shots to close the eyelid and protect the eye in people whose face was weak after surgery.
What was studied. Doctors looked back at the records of 18 patients. All 18 had facial nerve weakness after surgery. All of them got botulinum toxin shots in the upper eyelid instead of having the eyelid stitched partly shut.
What they found. The shots made the eyelid droop in 14 patients. The droop was partial in ten patients and complete in four. None of the patients got exposure keratitis, which is damage to the surface of the eye from being left open and dry. The report says there were no immediate or later problems from the shots.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: If facial weakness after surgery leaves your eye hard to close, eyelid shots may be one way to protect the eye. It is a way to keep the eye covered without stitching the lid. This is worth asking your surgeon or eye doctor about.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean the shots fix the facial nerve weakness itself. They only help protect the eye. This was a small look back at 18 patients who had already been treated. It was not a trial that compared this to other options. It is not a cure for facial paralysis, and results in one small group may not match what happens for everyone.
Source: PubMed, July 21, 2026 · Read the original
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