nerve deficits can reduce patient life satisfaction by 28%1

Nerve repair during mandibular resection can help save patients a lifetime of struggle with sensation loss.2,3

without nerve reconstruction, patients lose more than sensation

A nerve deficit means turning down social invitations because eating in public brings constant worry that they won’t feel food stuck on their face. It’s struggling to nail a job interview because their speech doesn’t sound normal. It’s not being able to feel a kiss or a growing smile. Or worse, it’s pain.

  • 70% of patients with dental or lingual nerve injuries reported struggling to enjoy socializing daily.4
  • 60% of patients with dental or lingual nerve injuries reported struggling to eat multiple times a week.4
  • Patients with lingual or inferior alveolar nerve deficits reported 28% lower life satisfaction than those without.1
  • Patients who did not undergo nerve reconstruction had a 57% higher chance of experiencing chronic post-surgical pain or post-traumatic trigeminal neuropathic pain than those who underwent nerve repair.5

There’s a path to better feeling and function for your mandibular resection patients.

It’s not something that’s on your arm or your leg, it’s your face and that’s the first thing people see. Now I can interact with people and I don’t feel embarrassed.

— Pablo, nerve repair patient

This testimonial reflects individual experience and may not represent typical results.

nerve reconstruction is
possible—and accessible

We get it. Nerve function isn’t always on the priority list in a complex procedure like mandible resection. But with a few minutes of advance planning paired with your microsurgical skills, reconstructing the nerve can fit into your surgical plan with minimal disruption.

a matter of millimeters. a lifetime of sensation.

A minimal addition to your procedure can help save patients from permanent nerve deficits, lost function and chronic pain.3,5,6

positively impacts patients' lives

Surgeons report that patients’ demeanor and outlook on life noticeably improves when sensation returns.7

adds minimal surgical time

With advance planning, sensory restoration can be integrated into the surgical plan with minimal additional time once it becomes part of the routine.

can be performed in patients undergoing radiation

Postoperative treatment with radiation therapy does not impact nerve sensory recovery.6

A lack of sensation is very debilitating. Not only is it about feeling uncomfortable doing things like eating in public, it’s not being able to feel things like a kiss for the rest of your life. That’s not something I think that we should be asking our patients to adapt to.

For patients who underwent nerve reconstruction, they’re very happy when they get sensation back. When that sensation starts to return, it’s all they talk about.

— Patrick Garvey, MD, FACS, reconstructive microsurgeon

feeling is function. it's yours to restore.

Nerve reconstruction has the potential to restore pre-surgical levels of sensation3—helping patients regain lost function.

90%

Nearly 90% of study participants (n=18) who underwent inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) reconstruction achieved functional sensory recovery within one year.3

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6x

Study patients who underwent nerve repair were 6x less likely to experience chronic post-surgical pain.5

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6 months

Six months after IAN reconstruction, all study participants (n=18) who underwent mandibular surgery and reconstruction with processed nerve allograft repair reported no unpleasantness from altered sensations.3

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PUBLICATIONS

Full Axogen clinical bibliography

A case-and-control, multisite, positive controlled, prospective study of the safety and effectiveness of Immediate Inferior alveolar nerve processed nerve allograft reconstruction with ablation of the mandible for benign pathology

Does immediate long-span nerve allograft reconstruction affect the incidence of chronic postsurgical and neuropathic pain in the reconstructed mandible following resection for benign and malignant disease

Neurosensory Reconstruction of the Mandible: Technical Aspects

Trigeminal neurosensory deficit and patient reported outcome measures: the effect on quality of life

RESOURCES

Reimbursement guide and coding assistance

Research: IAN deficits can significantly diminish patients’ quality of life

Brochure: IAN reconstruction

IAN reconstruction in a segmental mandible resection via mandibular foramen access

IAN reconstruction in a segmental mandible resection via buccal decortication access

SOLUTIONS

avance nerve graft Avance Nerve Graft® Axoguard® Nerve Connector Axoguard Nerve Connector® Axoguard® Nerve Protector Axoguard Nerve Protector® Axoguard HA+ Nerve Protector™

See sizing and IFU on solution pages.

discover a proven repair solution

Avance Nerve Graft empowers you to help restore feeling and function for your patients.

With no donor site comorbidities or time requirement to harvest an autograft nerve, allograft has proven to be an effective, efficient standard of care.8-10

see the data

connect with a nerve rep

There’s only a short form between you and our nerve product team who can help you get more information about our nerve repair solutions.

contact

references

  1. Leung YY, et al. Trigeminal neurosensory deficit and patient reported outcome measures: the effect on life satisfaction and depression symptoms. PLoS One. 2013;8(8):e72891. Published 2013 Aug 29. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072891
  2. Zuniga JR. Sensory outcomes after reconstruction of lingual and inferior alveolar nerve discontinuities using processed nerve allograft–a case series. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2015;73(4):734-744. doi:10.1016/j.joms.2014.10.030
  3. Zuniga JR, et al. A Case-and-control, multisite, positive controlled, prospective study of the safety and effectiveness of immediate inferior alveolar nerve processed nerve allograft reconstruction with ablation of the mandible for benign pathology. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2017;75(12):2669-2681. doi:10.1016/j.joms.2017.04.002
  4. Patel N, et al. Quality of life following injury to the inferior dental or lingual nerve – a cross-sectional mixed-methods study. Oral Surg. 2018;11:9-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/ors.12259
  5. Zuniga JR, et al. Does immediate long-span nerve allograft reconstruction affect the incidence of chronic postsurgical and neuropathic pain in the reconstructed mandible following resection for benign and malignant disease. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2023;81(12):1587-1593. doi:10.1016/j.joms.2023.09.00
  6. Kaplan J, et al. Sensory outcomes for inferior alveolar nerve reconstruction with allograft following free fibula mandible reconstruction. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2023;152(3):499e-506e. doi:10.1097/PRS.0000000000010286
  7. Axogen data on file.
  8. Lans J, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of nerve gap repair: comparative effectiveness of allografts, autografts, and conduits. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2023 May 1;151(5):814e-827e. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000010088.
  9. Raizman NM, et al. Procedure costs of peripheral nerve graft reconstruction. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2023;11(4):e4908. Published 2023 Apr 10. doi:10.1097/GOX.0000000000004908
  10. Safa B, Momeni A. Reconsidering the standard of care for peripheral nerve reconstruction. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2023;11(11):e5320. Published 2023 Nov 16. doi:10.1097/GOX.0000000000005320