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Glossar

Nerve irritation

Nerve irritation is a temporary dysfunction of a nerve caused by pressure, compression or stretching; function almost always returns to normal, though often only after several months.

Nerve irritation:

Nerve irritation is a temporary dysfunction of a nerve caused by pressure, compression or severe stretching. Unlike in the case of a genuine nerve injury, the nerve fibre remains intact – function is restored in almost all cases, but this often takes months.

Important note

This article is for information purposes only and is not a substitute for a medical diagnosis or advice. If you are unsure, or if you require a personalised treatment plan, it is essential that you consult a qualified specialist.

A tingling sensation that won’t go away. An area of skin that suddenly feels numb or tingly. Or an eyebrow that no longer reacts quite as it used to following an injection. Sensory or motor disturbances following a cosmetic treatment understandably cause great anxiety for those affected. In the vast majority of cases, however, the medical diagnosis is simply nerve irritation.

This article will help you to understand your symptoms properly. We explain in simple terms why nerves often react „offensively“ following a procedure, how the body repairs them, and why patience is the most important remedy during this phase.

Definition: What exactly is nerve irritation?

Nerve irritation (often also referred to as nerve stimulation) is a temporary dysfunction of a nerve. It occurs when a nerve’s function is impaired by external factors such as pressure, compression, severe stretching or contact with chemical substances.

Unlike a structural nerve injury (lesion or transection), the nerve fibre itself remains intact in the case of irritation. The nerve is simply temporarily unable to send or receive electrical signals correctly.

Recognising the typical symptoms

Nerves are our body’s data cables. If these cables become „crimped“, transmission errors occur. These usually manifest themselves in two areas:

Sensory disorders (sensory nerves)

  • Numbness (hypaesthesia): The skin feels „furry“ or does not respond to touch (typically on the ears following a facelift or on the nipple following breast surgery).
  • Tingling (paraesthesia): A sensation like „pins and needles“, which often occurs when the nerve begins to come back to life.
  • Hypersensitivity: Normal touch is suddenly perceived as unpleasant or even burning.

Motor disorders (motor nerves)

  • Temporary weakness of certain muscles (e.g. an asymmetrical smile following injections in the lower half of the face).

Causes in aesthetic medicine

In plastic surgery and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, there are three main causes of nerve damage:

  • Pressure caused by swelling or bruising: After an operation, the tissue swells considerably. In addition, internal post-operative haematomas may form. These accumulations of fluid exert mechanical pressure on neighbouring nerve pathways and compress them.
  • Stretching during the operation: During major body-contouring operations (such as a tummy tuck), tissue must be held to one side using hooks and stretched to the limit. This inevitably causes the fine skin nerves to be stretched and irritated.
  • Pressure caused by fillers: If hyaluronic acid fillers are injected too close to a nerve bundle, the viscous gel may put pressure on the nerve.

Irritation or actual nerve damage? The crucial difference

This is the most important distinction for your treating doctor:

Irritation

  • The nerve is pinched or overstretched. As soon as the swelling subsides or the pressure eases, function recovers completely and spontaneously in almost 100 % of cases.

Lesion / Transection

  • The surgeon has accidentally nicked or completely severed the nerve (e.g. with a scalpel incision). This is a serious surgical complication. A severed nerve often does not heal on its own and can lead to permanent paralysis (e.g. of the facial nerve).

The healing process: Why nerves take such a long time to recover

When your doctor tells you, „Please be patient“, this is not an excuse, but a neurological fact. Whilst a normal cut on the skin heals within a few weeks, nerve fibres have one of the slowest regeneration processes in the human body.

If the nerve does not recover immediately once the post-operative swelling has subsided (after 2–3 weeks), a slow healing process begins deep within the tissue.

Rule of thumb

A damaged nerve grows by only about 1 millimetre a day!

A sensation of numbness extending from the breast to the nipple can therefore last for 3 to 6 months, or in some cases even up to a year, before sensation is fully restored.

What you can do to aid your own recovery

Measures to support nerve healing

  • Keep calm: Panic and stress cause the blood vessels to constrict. However, good blood circulation is essential for supplying nutrients to the irritated nerve.
  • Wearing compression garments: After surgery, be sure to wear the prescribed compression garments consistently so that post-operative swelling subsides more quickly and pressure is relieved from the nerve.
  • Nutrients (B vitamins): Following consultation with a doctor, taking high doses of a vitamin B complex (particularly vitamin B12) can support the metabolism of nerve cells and the regeneration of the insulating nerve sheath (myelin sheath).

Complications and financial security

If nerve function has not returned even after several months, or if persistent burning pain (neuropathy) occurs, this often indicates structural nerve damage. This usually requires expensive, lengthy neurological pain management or, in the worst-case scenario, surgical nerve reconstruction (microsurgery).

If these serious complications arise following purely cosmetic (non-medically necessary) operations, statutory health insurance schemes often do not cover the high resulting costs. A policy taken out before the procedure Consequential Costs Insurance is therefore an essential safety net. It protects you from a heavy financial burden in the event of serious surgical errors or complications.

You can find further information on covered procedures on the overview page for treatments and procedures, as well as in the frequently asked questions.

None

Insure against consequential costs

Frequently Asked Questions

If the numbness does not gradually improve once the swelling following the operation has subsided (approx. 3–4 weeks), or if the numbness suddenly spreads and is accompanied by severe, stabbing pain.

No. Botulinum toxin does not structurally sever or damage the nerve. It merely temporarily blocks the transmission of signals. Even in the event of undesirable side effects (such as a drooping eyelid), the effect reverts to 100 % as soon as the drug has been broken down by the body (usually after 3–6 months).

A slight, tingling or pulling sensation around the scar, which occurs weeks after the operation, is usually a very positive sign. It generally means that the fine skin nerves that were severed are regrowing and slowly resuming their function.

This can cause severe pain and numbness in the area supplied by the nerve. In such an emergency, the doctor must immediately inject the enzyme Hylase. This dissolves the hyaluronic acid within hours, relieves the pressure on the nerve and prevents permanent damage.

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