The Lindens Clinic

The Lindens Clinic, in Manchester, is an internationally established centre of excellence for the treatment of facial paralysis and regularly welcomes patients from throughout Europe.  However, we have for a long time been aware that for patients from Scotland trips to the clinic can be a bit like something from the film ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’! with trips costing more than from many other countries in Europe i.e. Spain and often taking longer.  So it is with pleasure that I announce the opening of a  satellite centre in Aberdeen, February 2006.

Penny Gravill will be running the centre and has for a number of years specialised in facial rehabilitation.  She is a fully qualified and experienced speech and language therapist who has also trained extensively with the team at the Lindens Clinic and will be able to offer Eye care, Emg testing, Trophic Stimulation and biofeedback as part of an integrated rehabilitation package.  Penny has been thrilled with the results she has been able to achieve using these modalities.

A facial palsy means that one side of a persons face does not move properly.  For example we have experience of:-

• Builders who can’t work because they can’t blink or close their eye (all the brick dust could cause blindness),
• Public speakers who can’t work because they slur their words and sound drunk.
• Mothers who won’t have a photograph taken with their baby because they can only smile with one side of their face.
• Bridesmaids who don’t want their photograph taken because they will ruin their sisters wedding
• Brides who cancel the wedding or at least the photographer
• Students who won’t attend their own graduation ceremony.

Facial palsy can be as a result of a:-

• virus (you can quite literally wake up with it),
• surgical removal of tumours
• trauma (impaling on railings, falling through glass windows and car
  accidents to name a few)
• assault (i.e. domestic abuse or fights)
• congenital (babies can be born with it)

Penny will be aiming to restore muscle to the face and retrain movement such that she will quite literally be bringing a smile back to her patients.

People who have never experienced it cannot imagine what it is like to live with the impact of sudden acute facial paralysis.  Yet until now people have been told to learn to live with it.  Penny aims to change this for people in the Grampian region.

Further details or more medical background please contact head office on 0161 718 8620 or see our website www.dianafarragher.co.uk

Jenny Farragher MSc BSc (Hons)
Clinic Manager for
Diana Farragher OBE FCSP MSc Dip TP Dip Phys Grad