Persistent Pain After Sinus Surgery

Dear Ask The Doctor: I have facial nerve damage due to a previous sinus surgery - I've had a second one to clean out scar tissue and have tons of steroids shot into the area where the nerve damage is. It still is there - for days out of a month I feel like I have an abcessed tooth, but there is no teeth there. What now? I want to jump off a cliff.

Dear Sharon: Constant facial pain after sinus surgery is unusual.  There are many different possibilities, including facial pain syndromes, temperomandibular joint problems, Atypical Facial Pain and trigeminal neuralgia. Each case is unique and is handled individually. Some patients with pain respond well to medication, and others respond well to local nerve blocks.