Purpose: To evaluate the effect of reconstructing inferior alveolar nerve and preserving the sensation of lower lip and chin in repairing mandibular defect by simultaneous neuralized iliac bone flap.
Methods: Patients with continuous mandibular defects requiring reconstruction were randomly assigned to the innervated(IN) group and the control(CO) group by random number table. In the IN group, the deep circumflex iliac artery and recipient vessels were anastomosed microscopically during mandible reconstruction, and the ilioinguinal nerve(IN), mental nerve(MN) and inferior alveolar nerve(IAN) were anastomosed at the same time. In the CO group, only vascular anastomosis was performed without nerve reconstruction. During the operation, the nerve electrical activity after nerve anastomosis was detected by nerve monitor, and the sensory recovery of lower lip was recorded by two-point discrimination(TPD), current perception threshold (CPT) and Touch test sensory evaluator(TTSE) test. SPSS 26.0 software package was used for data analysis.
Results: According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 20 patients were included, with 10 patients in each group. All the flaps survived in both groups, and no serious complications such as flap crisis occurred, and no obvious complications occurred in the donor site. The results of TPD test, CPT test and TTSE test all indicated that the degree of postoperative hypoesthesia in the IN group was less(P＜0.05).
Conclusions: Simultaneous nerve anastomosis vascularized iliac bone flap can effectively preserve the feeling of lower lip and improve the postoperative quality of life of patients. It is a safe and effective technique.