India, Oct. 12 -- A human being's first recognition is by his/her face. A look at the facial expression can give a wealth of information about the person, his/her mindset, personality and of course, the neurological problems that he/she may be having. Many of these neurological problems like tics or blinking may be passed off as matter of habit. However, a problem like hemifacial spasm (HFS) characterised by frequent involuntary contractions and twitching of the muscles on one side of the face, is a neuromuscular disorder often causing social embarrassment to the patient and affecting the quality of life. These contractions are painless, and limited to one side of the face, and often taken as "normal" for that person. HFS occurs more often in middle-aged women. Inside the skull, facial nerve, which moves all the muscles of the face under command of the brain, gets irritated by a neighbouring artery or vein, leading to involuntary contraction of half of the face. Intermittent twitching of the eyelid muscle (mistaken for repetitive winking) is usually the first symptom. Later, the spasm may spread to involve the muscles of the lower face, and the mouth may be pulled to one side. As it becomes more severe, flat neck muscle (platysma) can form visible ridges in the neck. Patients undergo MRI of the brain to detect a vessel compressing the nerve. Non-operative treatment for HFS involves repeated botulinum toxin injections which can have a side effect in the form of a flat, expressionless face. Microvascular decompression of the facial nerve for HFS remains the only cure of this spasm. Surgery involves separation of the artery that causes compression from the facial nerve. It is a safe and effective procedure, and provides the best likelihood of success, best quality of life with normal facial function, and almost no recurrence of HFS. Hospitalisation is generally not more than 72 hours....