Plastic Surgeon Honored at Italian Conference

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- David A. Sherris of Buffalo, professor and chair of the Department of Otolaryngology in the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, was the guest of honor at the first annual meeting of the Italian ORL Society of Facial Plastic Surgery held earlier this month in Verona, Italy.

Sherris presented a keynote address, "Repair of Facial Nerve Paralysis," based on new techniques he has developed to treat facial paralysis.

He also presented a lecture on the repair with rhinoplasty of severe deformities of the external nose.

Facial nerve paralysis is a condition that can be caused by tumors or neurologic abnormalities that results in drooping of one side of the face. Facial paralysis can affect vision, speech, the ability to chew, the aesthetic appearance of the face and the ability to provide facial expression, as well as overall issues with self image.

Sherris, who specializes in facial plastic surgery, presented the techniques he uses to repair each of these functional disorders, with particular emphasis on a new technique he recently developed -- which was published in The Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery -- describing repair of the lower facial, neck and cosmetic disfigurement associated with facial paralysis.

"The new technique has resulted in uniformly improved patient satisfaction with the results," Sherris says. "With rehabilitation and surgery, many patients can recover the ability to smile, which was one of the most devastating results of facial paralysis."