Dr Mike Yiu Yan Leung
BDS HK, MDS HK, MOSRCS Edin, FCDSHK (OMS), FHKAM (DS), PhD HK
Trigeminal nerve injury is a common complication in
oral and maxillofacial surgery. Procedures like third molar surgery and
orthognathic procedures are in general at higher risks of this complication. Prevalences
of trigeminal nerve injury and the spontaneous recovery pattern vary with
different procedures. It is also interesting to note that the procedures that
induce the neurosensory deficit appear to affect patients’ quality of life and
psychology to different extent. Severe injury of the trigeminal nerve from
requires immediate or delayed repair that depends on the clinical judgment of
the surgeons and the extent and presentation of the symptoms of the patients. The
different modes of nerve injuries imply different management tactics in the
nerve repair procedures. This lecture aims to discuss the two most common
causes of trigeminal nerve injury: third molar surgery and orthognathic
surgery, the decision-making strategy of trigeminal nerve repair, and pearls
and pitfalls of the microsurgical nerve repair.
