ABSTRACT
Trigeminal nerve injuries may occur from third molar surgery, local anaesthetic injections, orthognathic surgery, maxillofacial trauma, implant surgery or pathology surgery, and most often involve the inferior alveolar nerve, the lingual nerve (LN) and the infraorbital nerve. Two approaches are used for microneurosurgical repair of the infraorbital nerve. A cutaneous approach is used when the site of injury is proximal to the infraorbital foramen. An intra-oral approach is used when the site of the injury is close to or distal to the infraorbital foramen. The sural nerve remains the 'workhorse' of autogenous nerve graft applications in trigeminal nerve repair. Alternative autogenous nerve graft locations are the greater auricular and medial antebrachial cutaneous nerves. The nerve is isolated from the vein and artery using vessel loops and dissected as far distally and proximally as possible.
