Post-traumatic and postoperative neurosensory deficits of the inferior alveolar nerve in mandibular fracture: a prospective study

• Published in: Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Vol. 42; no. 5; pp. 259 - 264
• Main Authors: Yadav, Sunil, Mittal, Hitesh Chander, Malik, Sunita, Dhupar, Vikas, Sachdeva, Akash, Malhotra, Vijaylaxmy, Singh, Gurdarshan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Nerve injury; Mandibular nerve; Mandibular fractures
• ISSN: 2234-7550; 2234-5930

Objectives: We evaluated and recorded post-traumatic and postoperative neurosensory deficits of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) in mandibular fracture in order to identify associated risk factors. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective cohort study composed of 60 patients treated for mandibular fracture. The primary study variable was the change between the post-traumatic IAN neurosensory examination score and the score after fracture reduction. Risk factors were categorized as demographic, anatomic, fracture displacement, and treatment. Appropriate descriptive and bivariate statistics were computed. Results: Sixty patients with unilateral mandibular fracture reported within 24 hours of injury were evaluated over a one-year period. A post-traumatic neurosensory deficit was observed in 52 patients (86.7%), the percentage of which was reduced to 23.3% over the follow-up period. Abnormal postoperative neurosensory scores were significantly higher in angle fracture cases (33.3%) compared to body fracture cases (11.1%). When recovered and non-recovered neurosensory scores were compared by fracture location, 88.9% of body fracture cases showed significant recovery compared to 66.7% of mandibular angle fracture cases. Cases with less than 5 mm fracture displacement showed statistically significantly higher neurosensory recovery scores (90.6%) compared to those with more than 5 mm fracture displacement (60.7%). Conclusion: Use of a miniplate with mono-cortical screws does not play a role in increasing IAN post-traumatic neurosensory deficit. Early management can reduce the chances of permanent neurosensory deficit. Mandibular fracture displacement of 5 mm or more and fracture location were found to be associated with an increased risk of post-traumatic IAN neurosensory score worsening.