How nerve repair reforms the results in jaw surgery

John Németh, winner of the Multure Blues Music Awards, built his life and music career as a singer and harmony player. But the X -rays taken during a usual dentist visit threatened to change that.

John’s dentist discovered an Ameloblastoma, a benign but aggressive volume, which was rapidly developed in his jaw and chin and had to be surgically removed. This was a reality that could mean the end of his career and the likelihood of never feeling his mouth or lips again. Was destroyed. The song and the reproduction of harmony, the skills that have been evolving for decades, would become difficult or even impossible and threatened to threaten his family.

During a process such as John’s, where the tumor includes the jaw, removal often involves cutting or injuring the nerves that allow us to feel parts of the face, lips and chin. In the past, during these types of procedures, the nerves were often not restored, leaving people with permanent numbness. If you’ve ever been infected during a dental process, imagine that the feeling for the rest of your life. This was not a possibility that John wanted to consider.

Thanks to a link to his original surgeon, John found myself in my care.

I am believing that numbness should not be the rule – especially when something can be done. Thus, I have repaired nerve repair a standard practice during jaw reconstruction to help patients return to as much as possible.

When it came to me, I shared information on the advanced nerve repair techniques that offered hope: a way to regain the sensation after surgery.

“He was a career warning,” John told me. “The kind of music I am for the soul, and if you can’t feel the music, it will really show. I think it would be a game-ender for me. This process probably saved me.”

Only a fraction of people undergoing tumor removal surgeries know that they should ask about the possibility of restoring the feeling in their jaw – but it is possible to repair the nerves.

John’s story emphasizes a crucial issue: all patients do not have the knowledge, resources or connections to ensure that nerve restoration is part of their jaw reconstruction. This discussion must occur between each patient and their care groups.

Without emotion, patients can fight with basic activities such as consumption, speech and socialization – things most of us consider given. Imagine constantly worrying that the food is stuck on your face or struggling to enjoy a meal because you can’t feel the food in your mouth. Think of his emotional taxes not feeling a smile again or enjoying the kiss of a loved one.

These are the daily realities for many people who undergo jaw reconstruction without nervous restoration. And in some cases, when the nerve is not rebuilt, patients are also more likely to have chronic pain. For someone like John, whose life is based on accurate and dynamic control of his language and lips, life without a sensation was not an option.

Patients often believe that “it won’t happen to me”, but John’s experience is a warning story. Its volume was discovered during a regular dental visit-and was fortunately benign-but what followed was a two-year-old marathon of treatment and recovery. His trip to receive his final dental implants ended last year, shortly before he went to Europe. He even has a prize or two since then. John’s story emphasizes that the importance of patients is preventive and well -informed when facing medical diagnoses and care groups taking measures to inform their patients about the quality of life and the effects of nerve after surgery. It should be a key part of preparation and training surgery.

John was lucky that his surgeon was familiar with the emerging work in the rebuilding of the nerves and believed that the recovery of the feeling was critical to make his patient as a whole. John’s case is not unique. Patients across the country have come to my practice in Houston to receive this procedure, including an internal medicine physician who requested jaw surgery and nerve reconstruction just five weeks before her marriage. It is noteworthy that our team performed the surgery without atrial appearance for its big day and could feel the kiss of her husband in months – a small but deeply significant victory.

But what happens if patients do not have a sensation in their jaw? “I’ve talked to several people who have come to my broadcasts,” John said. “I met a saxophone player in Denmark and they had a similar function without technology and they can’t play the saxophone. They can’t feel it. I feel very lucky to be able to do it.”

In addition to ending career for some, studies show that nerve deficits can Reduce the satisfaction of a patient’s life by 33 %and those who are not undergoing nerve reconstruction have 43 percent higher chance of experiencing chronic post-surgical pain. On the other hand, patients receiving nerve reconstruction can return to almost normality and are incredibly satisfied with their lives after surgery, often referring to the return of the sensation as a critical factor in their recovery.

Although the number of nerve repair surgeries has increased in recent years, these procedures are still not the standard in jaw reconstruction. This means that millions of patients after surgery live inadequate life with a reduced feeling. And you don’t need it. Any healthcare professional involved in preparation, surgery procedures and care can play a role in changing it.

The long -standing approach to focus solely on tumor removal and structural reconstruction is no longer enough. Patients are worth more: the ability to regain feel, function and quality of life. By incorporating nerve recovery into surgical protocols, we can convert patient effects and put a new precedent in reconstructive care.

As surgeons, experts and healthcare providers, it’s time to have these conversations with your patients. Update them about their choices. Prosecutor for the reconstruction of the nerves as part of the jaw content. If you do not offer this, ask yourself why. Is it time? Is it a return? These obstacles can and should be treated because, in the end, this is a focus on the patient. Our patients trust not only to remove their tumors but to restore their lives. The ability to eat, talk and smile with confidence should not be luxury – it must be the standard. Let us make sure that any patient undergoing jaw reconstruction has access to the full field of care they really need to cure.

James C. Melville He is an oral and jaw.