Overview
Superior Treatment for Facial Disorders Backed by Experience
Facial disorders can significantly impact facial movement, expression, and overall quality of life. These conditions may arise suddenly or develop over time due to a variety of causes, including viral infections, trauma, tumors, or neurological conditions. At Pacific Neuroscience Institute® (PNI), our multidisciplinary team offers expert diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of facial pain and nerve disorders.
Experienced neurosurgeon, Garni Barkhoudarian, MD, offers a 360-degree approach to trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm, glossopharyngeal spasm and other facial pain syndromes. This includes medication therapy, percutaneous procedures, stereotactic radiosurgery and endoscopic microvascular decompression of the trigeminal or facial nerves. Amit Kochhar, MD, is board-certified in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He treats a wide range of facial nerve disorders including facial paralysis, Bell’s palsy, and synkinesis, and is among the most experienced facial reanimation surgeons in the US, with over 1,000 patients treated.
With additional expertise in neuro-ophthalmology, neurology, physical therapy, and speech pathology all in one place, we provide highly personalized, compassionate care using the most advanced surgical and non-surgical approaches. This level of multidisciplinary expertise—all in one location—is unmatched anywhere else in Los Angeles.
Our goal is to restore facial function and symmetry, alleviate pain, and help patients regain confidence and comfort in their daily lives.
Facial Nerve & Paralysis Syndromes
Facial nerve disorders can cause weakness, paralysis, or abnormal movements of the face, affecting both appearance and function. Common conditions include Bell’s palsy, Ramsay Hunt syndrome, facial nerve injury after trauma or surgery, and tumor-related facial paralysis. In some cases, patients develop synkinesis — unintentional facial movements that occur during voluntary actions, such as eye closure when smiling.
Treatment depends on the cause and severity of the condition and may involve medications, specialized physical therapy, Botox injections, or surgical interventions to restore facial movement and symmetry. For complex or long-standing cases, nerve grafting, muscle transfers, and other advanced reconstructive procedures are available, helping improve both function and quality of life.
Facial paralysis, either acute or chronic, is a complex disorder in its diagnosis and treatment, and warrants a team approach of experienced specialists to achieve optimal outcomes. Our multidisciplinary team is here to help you and your loved ones understand your condition and determine an optimal treatment plan. Because of our expertise, we are able to treat patients with the most challenging forms of facial paralysis, including many with prior treatments and patients who have been deemed “cured” by other physicians. We do not believe a patient is “cured” until they say so themselves.
Facial Pain Disorders
Facial pain disorders may often result from vascular compression syndromes, where a blood vessel presses on a nerve near the brainstem, causing nerve dysfunction. The most common of these is trigeminal neuralgia, but other related conditions include hemifacial spasm, glossopharyngeal neuralgia, intractable vertigo, and torticollis. This pressure and associated nerve inflammation can lead to “short-circuiting” of nerve signals, making even mild sensations trigger severe pain.
Atypical facial pain refers to a group of pain conditions that don’t follow the classic pattern of trigeminal neuralgia. These may involve burning or continuous pain, pain on both sides of the face, or discomfort that feels out of proportion to normal stimuli like light touch or chewing. While these types of pain are typically not caused by blood vessel compression (and may not respond to decompression surgery), there are many treatment options available — from medications and nerve procedures like radiofrequency ablation or balloon compression to advanced neuromodulation therapies such as cortical or deep brain stimulation for difficult cases.
