[Dixielandjazz] blown chops

[Chuck Kercher]

Thanks for the info, Fred. I believe that Ziggy Elman also had this
condition.chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: "drjz" <drjz@bealenet.com>
To: "James Kashishian" <kash@ran.es>; <dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 09, 2002 11:39 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] blown chops


> What I believe you had, Jim, is a paralysis of the facial (7th cranial)
> nerve which does pass close to the inner ear. It is known as "Bell's
> Palsy", after the Scottish doctor who first described it in 1821. As you
> say, this affects the whole side of the face. For only the embouchure to
> be affected would require a much more localized affliction, which is
> unlikely. This also applies to a stroke.
> There is a condition known as "Satchmo's Syndrome", in which the
> circular muscle that contracts when puckering the lips is ruptured. I
> think you are correct, Charlie, in describing the muscle strain, i.e a
> weakening, or partial rupture, of this muscle. This could have produced
> a slackness that prevented the lips maintaining perfect contact with the
> mouthpiece.
> Louis Armstrong refused surgical repair and had his own drastic
> treatment. A doctor treated Randy Brooks with "lunar caustic"(silver
> nitrate),which formed an unscientific chemical scar.Don't try this!
> For anyone who is interested, the medical term is "Rupture of the
> Orbicularis Oris Muscle", derived from two Latin words, "orbis" a circle
> (e.g. the orbit of a planet) and os/oris, a mouth (e.g. oral hygiene),
> hence the "muscle that circles the mouth". More on this is contained in
> a letter of mine entitled "Randy Brooks and Satchmo's Syndrome",
> published in the IAJRC (International Association of Jazz Record
> Collectors)Journal, Vol. 34, No. 4, Fall 2001.
> I must emphasize that any retrospective diagnosis is really an educated
> guess, and I would welcome comments. Regards.
> Fred
>
> > >The right side of his mouth was effectively paralyzed.
> >
> > Could've been a pinched nerve, also.  Happened to me years ago, where a
> > nerve passes near the ear.  One side of my face was frozen....one sided
> > smile only, eye would only blink on one side, etc.  Nasty!  Lasted for
> > the complete summer.  Downright bad for gigs!
> >
> > Jim
> >
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