The Inferior Alveolar Nerve: To Graft or Not to Graft in Ablative Mandibular Resection?

PURPOSE

To determine contemporary surgical decision-making processes regarding the use of a nerve graft with ablative mandibular resection and to identify utilization barriers among head and neck surgeons.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An online electronic survey that queried practice patterns and subjective opinions regarding inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) grafting at the time of mandibular resection was distributed to head and neck surgeons and oral and maxillofacial surgery residency program directors (N = 249) by use of REDCap.

RESULTS

The response rate was 37%. Only 10.6% of respondents perform IAN reconstruction "always" (60% "usually" or "sometimes" and 28.8% "rarely" or "never") with ablative benign mandibular resection, whereas only 1.1% perform IAN grafting always (10-20% usually or sometimes and 89% rarely or never) with ablative malignant mandibular resection. Among the 93 participants, the most important utilization barriers were lack of evidence for improving quality of life, potential impact of radiation on nerve healing, and lack of efficacy for restoration of neurosensory function.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite evidence-based literature showing the efficacy of immediate IAN grafting with ablative benign mandibular resection, most head and neck surgeons do not perform this procedure routinely in patients with benign or malignant mandibular pathology. Future research should focus not only on the achievement of functional sensory recovery but also on the impact of IAN grafting on improved quality-of-life indicators in both benign and malignant mandibular disease, with and without adjunctive chemoradiation therapy.