| Until the more recent application of standard microneurosurgical techniques of nerve repair and grafting to the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery, spontaneous healing remained the only option for patients suffering from trauma to the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN). This study examined the efficacy of two different surgical repair techniques in comparison to spontaneous healing of a transection and a gap defect created in the IAN. The results suggest that there may be no significant difference in functional recovery between leaving a gap defect of the IAN for spontaneous healing and surgical repair of a defect of the same size. However, if a surgical repair is deemed necessary, functionally superior healing may be attainable with a collagen conduit rather than an autogenous nerve graft. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
