Microsurgical Repair of Inferior Alveolar Nerve Injuries Associated With Endodontic Treatment: Results on Sensory Function and Relief of Pain.

PURPOSE: An uncommon, but serious complication of endodontic treatment is inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) injury warranting operative intervention for exploration, debridement, and repair. The purpose of the study was to evaluate outcomes of microneurosurgical intervention for endotontic-related IAN injuries in terms of achievement of functional sensory recovery (FSR) and pain relief and to identify factors affecting outcomes. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of patients who had microsurgical exploration and repair of IAN injuries sustained during endodontic therapy was performed. The primary predictor variable is time to surgery and the primary outcome variables were time to FSR, whether or not the patient regained FSR, and postoperative pain level at 12 months (1-10 on a visual analog scale). Secondary variables include intraoperative findings, surgical treatment rendered, sensory recovery, and preoperative pain level. Analyses include Kaplan-Meier estimation, Fisher exact test, 1-way and mixed-design analysis of variance, and paired t-test. RESULTS: The sample included 23 patients with a mean age of 48.6 years with a female:male ratio of 20:3. Painful sensation was present in 17 (73.9%) of 23 patients at initial consultation. Mean time to surgery was 10.9 months (median 4.8 months, standard deviation = ±16.9). FSR was achieved in 10 of 21 patients at 1 year. Pain level at 1 year following surgical intervention improved from 4.86 to 2.76 (P = .001) with no effect from other variables. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical exploration and repair of endodontic-related IAN injuries is shown to improve neuropathic pain levels, while only delivering a modest recovery of sensory function. These injuries can be severe and debilitating and present with a variety of diagnoses and surgical findings. While this study fails to identify any particular factors affecting outcome, the data presented can help with clinician recommendations for treatment in patient-centered care.

Management of the Cephalic Positioning of the Lower Lateral Cartilage in Modern Rhinoplasty: An Algorithmic Approach.

Cephalic positioning of lateral cruras literally means that the cartilage does not support the nasal rim. Cephalic positioning is a relatively common anatomic variant of lower lateral cartilages that shows an extremely vulnerable rhinoplasty patient. In these patients, any reductive technique, such as cephalic trimming without compensation, worsens the situation and may lead to esthetic failures and airway compromise. True cephalic malpositioning needs to be diagnosed from pseudomalpositions preoperatively. The presence of the pseudomalposition does not mean that it can be ignored. Either malposition or pseudomalposition is best diagnosed and considered in the treatment plan.

New Concepts in Dorsal Nasal Augmentation.

Dorsal augmentation is commonly indicated in many primary and secondary aesthetic nose surgeries. Throughout the history, various synthetic and autogenous materials have been used for dorsal augmentation. In this article, we give an overview of basic concepts of cartilage grafting, review new concepts of dorsal augmentation, and discuss some emerging engineering modalities.

Incidence of Pre-Existing Lingual Cortex Perforation Before Removal of Mandibular Third Molars.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the mandibular third molar tooth (Md3) and the adjacent lingual cortical bone and determine the incidence of lingual cortex perforation by Md3s. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was designed and implemented from 100 cone-beam computed tomographic scans (CBCTs) of patients with age ranging from 18 to 65 years old. The primary outcome was to assess the incidence of mandibular third molars (Md3s) with existing lingual cortex perforation by their roots. Perforation was assessed at the level of root apex and the most lingual portion on the apical half of the root. Other outcome variables included average thickness of covering lingual bone in the nonperforation group, lingual cortex morphology, impaction, and demographics. Descriptive statistics were computed. RESULTS: More than half the radiographs showed lingual cortex perforation at the level of root apex and most lingual portion on the apical one half of the root (51.2% and 52.8%, respectively). The average thickness of the covering lingual bone was 1.25 mm around the root apex and 0.93 mm around the most lingual portion on the apical half of the root. The most common lingual cortex morphology was the undercut shape. There was statistically significant association between the presence of Md3 impaction and perforation at both root levels [(P value < .001, Effect size = 0.378) and (P value < .001, Effect size = 0.445)]. CONCLUSIONS: Perforation of the lingual cortex by Md3s, whether erupted or impacted, was found in >50% of patients as determined by a preoperative CBCT scan. Therefore, the finding of lingual cortex perforation after removal of Md3s is likely to be evidence of a pre-existing condition rather than a result of surgery.

Immediate effects of different steps of rhinoplasty on nasolabial angle and tip projection.

Nasolabial angle (NLA) and nasal tip projection (NTP) play an important role in aesthetic nose surgery. Little deviations can determine success and failure. The goal of this study was to analyze the immediate effect of different steps of open rhinoplasty on NLA and NTP. In this prospective single-blind study, 50 consecutive rhinoplasty cases were considered. The study consisted of 38 women and 12 men. The mean age was 28 years, ranging from 17 to 37 years. A standard life-size photograph was taken in each step of a classic open rhinoplasty during surgery. Nasolabial angle and NTP were measured and analyzed. Nasolabial angle: average increase after skeletonization (2.26 degrees), strut insertion (4 degrees), and tip spanning (0.17 degrees), whereas cephalic resection caused a decrease (1.9 degrees). Nasal tip projection: average increase after skeletonization (0.1 mm), strut insertion (0.31 mm), and tip spanning (0.84 mm), whereas cephalic resection caused a decrease (0.53 mm). Whereas strut insertion caused the highest mean increase in NLA, tip spanning was the most effective regarding change of NTP. Expectably cephalic resection was associated with decrease in NLA and NTP.

When to refer a patient with a nerve injury to a specialist.

BACKGROUND: Nerve injury is a known and accepted risk of many oral surgical and dental procedures. Such injuries may occur despite the practitioner's providing the best of care. Taking proactive measures during evaluation and surgery may reduce the incidence of nerve injury. RESULTS: Injuries to the peripheral branches of the trigeminal nerve can cause unfavorable effects on orofacial sensation and related functions such as eating, drinking, washing, speaking, shaving and kissing. CONCLUSIONS: When nerve injuries secondary to dental or oral surgery procedures fail to resolve promptly and the resulting dysesthesia is unacceptable to the patient, timely treatment gives the patient the best chance of a favorable outcome. Treatment may involve surgical exploration and repair of the injured nerve. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Recognition of and prompt referral for nerve injuries give the patient the best chance of achieving improvement or recovery of sensory function in the distribution of the injured nerve.

Management of perforations of the nasal septum: can extracorporeal septoplasty be an effective option?

PURPOSE: Perforation of the nasal septum is a frustrating problem frequently reported in the literature. Surprisingly, in most reports, iatrogenic perforation during septoplasty and electrocautery are the leading causes of this complication. This article presents the management of septal perforations and the indications for an extracorporeal approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fourteen patients with septal perforations were referred for treatment. Treatment was chosen based on defect size. Flaps, extracorporeal repair, or no treatment was used as indicated. RESULTS: Two of 14 perforations were small and were repaired by local flaps, 5 cases were treated by extracorporeal repair, and the 7 remaining cases required no surgical procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The extracorporeal technique, when indicated, can be used effectively for the repair of nasal septum perforations in selected cases.

Submental fat transfer: an approach to enhance soft tissue conditions in patients with submental lipomatosis after orthognathic surgery.

Soft tissue changes after orthognathic surgery and their effects on the esthetic appearance of the patient can be the most challenging and sometimes undesired parts of this procedure. Although the soft tissue profile is improved in many orthognathic surgeries, suboptimal soft tissue changes may necessitate some special interventions. To overcome these problems, the authors present a technique based on transferring the submental fat (in patients with submental lipomatosis) to the lips, paranasal areas, or other sites of the face instead of discarding it. According to this technique, in patients with submental lipomatosis, submental fat can be used not only to compensate some of the unpleasant soft tissue effects of orthognathic procedures (eg, thinning of the upper lip after mandibular setback), but also to improve pre-existing soft tissue problems, which may be worse after orthognathic surgeries (eg, a poor neck and chin profile). Although submental fat liposuction is a traditional technique to improve the neck and chin profile, the present technique is based on transferring the harvested fat to other sites of the face (lips, paranasal areas, etc) instead of discarding it.

Lateral crural suspension flap: a novel technique to modify and stabilize the nasolabial angle.

The proper nasolabial angle is a determinant factor in achieving a pleasant result in esthetic rhinoplasty surgery. Nasal tip position depends on various interrelated elements. Its rotation should be analyzed by assessing the nasolabial angle. An increase in this angle results in an upward tilt of the base of the nose with a concomitant decrease in nasal length. Several methods have been advocated to improve this angle; unfortunately, these techniques have considerable limitations in modifying and stabilizing nasal tip rotation. The general principles for rotating the nasal tip include removing the factors that resist the rotation of the lower lateral cartilages, creating space to accommodate them, rotating the lower lateral cartilages into the desired position, and stabilizing the cartilages in the desired position. Resection of the cephalic margin of the lateral crura fulfills these goals. This report describes a straightforward and stable method that uses cephalic portions of the lower lateral crural cartilages as 2 flaps to suspend the nasal tip to the septum to modify and stabilize the nasolabial angle.