The Mission

 

 Uplifting Faces is a nonprofit charitable organization, which aims to help patients with non-resolving

facial palsies. Facial paralysis can occur due to a wide array of reasons, including infectious, neurologic, 

congenital, traumatic, nonplastic, infectious, systemic, and iatrogenic causes (1). Bells palsy is a type of

facial palsy that is idiopathic; meaning there is no known cause to this devastating condition.

 

Lower facial extremity ailments, such as Bells palsy, can cause a multitude of problems. As a result,

affected individuals may suffer involuntary eye closure, gustatory epiphora, and facial irritation (2).

Furthermore, communication can be severely hindered due to the loss of important

nonverbal facial cues (2).

 

In addition to the functional issues that arise with facial palsies, there are a wide array of cosmetic

inconsistencies, which can have detrimental psychosocial consequences to affected individuals (2).

In a study published by Basic and Applied Social Psychology, researchers found that people may show prejudice against people with severe facial palsies (3). This can lead to negative cognitive health

outcomes.

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Many people are negatively affected by Bell's palsy. In fact, every year approximately 40,000

Americans will develop a Bell's palsy (4). With the rising cost combined with a lack of access to proper

medical care in the states, many people are opting to live with the detrimental effects of this disease.

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This is what moves us. At Uplifting Faces, we believe that no one should have to live with this ailment.

We aim to increase awareness of this condition and the potential treatments, which can be life

changing. Many patients suffering from non-resolving facial palsies are unaware of the many effective

treatments and resources to deal with this condition. We are determined to not only educate, but

improve the lives of those individuals affected by a non-resolving Bell's palsy. We are knocking

down the cumbersome monetary barrier by providing free surgical procedures.

These gratis procedures include facial reanimation surgery, unilateral face and neck lifting,

brow lifting, perioral reconstruction, and ocular salvage procedures.  More specifically, these

ocular procedures include upper lid gold weight placement to improve lagophthalmos

(eyelid closure), lower lid tightening to correct ectropion (paralytic droopy lower lid), and tear duct

closure to improve ocular lubrication. After surgical treatment, we will teach patients proper

long-term facial rehabilitation exercises and connect them to proffesional psychological counseling.

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Sources:

1. Mehta, R. P. (2009). Surgical Treatment of Facial Paralysis. Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology, 2(1), 1-5.

2. Faris, C., et al. (2018). Evaluation of Societal Health Utility of Facial Palsy and Facial Reanimation. JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, 20(6).

480-487.

3. Bogart, K., et al. (2014). Communicating without the Face: Holistic Perception of Emotions of People with Facial Paralysis. Basic and

Applied Social Psychology, 36(4), 309-320.

4. Balakrishnan, A. (2015). Bell's Palsy: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research,

7(11), 1004-1006.

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*qualified indivudals refers to people who sign up whom meet Uplifting Faces guidlines and are deemed by Uplifting Faces as acceptable candidates for surgery

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