Occurrence and treatment of peripheral nerve injuries after cosmetic surgeries

Qiang Chen; Pengfei Li; QingFang Zhao; Tian Tu; Hui Lu; Wei Zhang

doi:10.3389/fneur.2023.1258759

Occurrence and treatment of peripheral nerve injuries after cosmetic surgeries

Front Neurol. 2023 Oct 20:14:1258759. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1258759. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Qiang Chen^#¹, Pengfei Li^#², QingFang Zhao³, Tian Tu², Hui Lu⁴, Wei Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hand & Reconstructive Surgery, Center for Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
² Department of Plastic and Aesthetic Center, First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
³ Department of Plastic Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Department of Orthopaedics, First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁵ Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Although non-invasive and minimally invasive aesthetic procedures increasingly dominate the cosmetic market, traditional plastic surgery remains the most effective improvement method. One of the most common complications in plastic surgery, peripheral nerve injuries, though has a low incidence but intrigued plastic surgeons globally. In this article, a narrative review was conducted using several databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science) to identify peripheral nerve injuries following cosmetic surgeries such as blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, rhytidectomy, breast surgeries, and abdominoplasty. Surgery-related nerve injuries were discussed, respectively. Despite the low incidence, cosmetic plastic surgeries can cause iatrogenic peripheral nerve injuries that require special attention. The postoperative algorithm approaches can be effective, but the waiting and treatment processes can be long and painful. Preventive measures are undoubtedly more effective than postoperative remedies. The best means of preventing disease is having a good understanding of anatomy and conducting a careful dissection.

Keywords: cosmetic surgeries; nerve injuries; occurrence; peripheral nerves; plastic surgeries; treatment algorithm.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The study received funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 81702135), Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation (grant numbers LY20H060007 and LS21H060001), Alibaba Youth Studio Project (grant number ZJU-032), Zhejiang Provincial Continuing Education Program (grant number 2022-04-07-001), and the Key projects by the province of Zhejiang Medical and Health Science and Technology Project (WKJ-ZJ-2101).