• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.118-128
• /
• 2001

Two major salivary glands, submandibular duct, lingual nerve, and vessels are situated beneath the mouth floor. Among these, passing through the pterygomandibular space, lingual nerve is innervated to the lingual gingiva and the mucosa of mouth floor, and is responsible for the general sensation of the anterior two thirds of the tongue. So, the injury of the lingual nerve during an anesthesia or surgery in the retromolar area may cause complications such as a numbness, a loss of taste of the tongue and the other dysfunctions. Therefore, to find out the morphology and the course of lingual nerve and to clarify the topographical relationships of lingual nerve at the infratemporal fossa and paralingual space area, 32 Korean hemi-sectioned heads were dissected macroscopically and microscopically with a viewpoint of clinical aspect in this study. This study demonstrated various anatomical characteristics with relation to the course and topography of the lingual nerve in Koreans. And clinical significances based on the anatomical variations through the topography of the courses and communications between the mandibular nerve branches were described in details.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• /
• v.41
• /
• pp.40.1-40.7
• /
• 2019

Background: Through the analysis of clinical data, we attempted to investigate the etiology and determine the risk of severe iatrogenic lingual nerve injuries in the removal of the mandibular third molar. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for patients who had undergone microsurgical repair of lingual nerve injuries. The following data were collected and analyzed: patient sex, age, nerve injury side, type of impaction (Winter's classification, Pell and Gregory's classification). Ratios for the respective lingual nerve injury group data were compared with the ratios of the respective data for the control group, which consisted of data collected from the literature. The data for the control group included previous patients that encountered various complications during the removal of the mandibular third molar. Results: The lingual nerve injury group consisted of 24 males and 58 females. The rate of female patients with iatrogenic lingual nerve injuries was significantly higher than the control groups. Ages ranged from 15 to 67 years, with a mean age of 36.5 years old. Lingual nerve injury was significantly higher in the patient versus the control groups in age. The lingual nerve injury was on the right side in 46 and on the left side in 36 patients. There was no significant difference for the injury side. The distoangular and horizontal ratios were the highest in our lingual nerve injury group. The distoangular impaction rate in our lingual nerve injury group was significantly higher than the rate for the control groups. Conclusion: Distoangular impaction of the mandibular third molar in female patients in their 30s, 40s, and 50s may be a higher risk factor of severe lingual nerve injury in the removal of mandibular third molars.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
• /
• v.52 no.3
• /
• pp.259-266
• /
• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of magnetic resonance (MR) neurography using the 3-dimensional double-echo steady-state with water excitation (3D-DESS-WE) sequence for the preoperative delineation of the facial and lingual nerves. Materials and Methods: Patients underwent MR neurography for a tumor in the parotid gland area or lingual neuropathy from January 2020 to December 2021 were reviewed. Preoperative MR neurography using the 3D-DESS-WE sequence was evaluated. The visibility of the facial nerve and lingual nerve was scored on a 5-point scale, with poor visibility as 1 point and excellent as 5 points. The facial nerve course relative to the tumor was identified as superficial, deep, or encased. This was compared to the actual nerve course identified during surgery. The operative findings in lingual nerve surgery were also described. Results: Ten patients with parotid tumors and 3 patients with lingual neuropathy were included. Among 10 parotid tumor patients, 8 were diagnosed with benign tumors and 2 with malignant tumors. The median facial nerve visibility score was 4.5 points. The distribution of scores was as follows: 5 points in 5 cases, 4 points in 1 case, 3 points in 2 cases, and 2 points in 2 cases. The lingual nerve continuity score in the affected area was lower than in the unaffected area in all 3 patients. The average visibility score of the lingual nerve was 2.67 on the affected side and 4 on the unaffected side. Conclusion: This study confirmed that the preoperative localization of the facial and lingual nerves using MR neurography with the 3D-DESS-WE sequence was feasible and contributed to surgical planning for the parotid area and lingual nerve.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.35-38
• /
• 2017

Neurilemmomas are benign tumors originating from Schwann cells, and may occur in various nerves; however, they rarely originate from the lingual nerve. When a lingual nerve neurilemmoma develops in the submandibular space, it can be challenging to diagnose it preoperatively, and this tumor can be misdiagnosed as a usual submandibular gland tumor owing to the rarity and a lack of knowledge about lingual nerve neurilemmomas. Therefore, it is important to consider neurilemmoma in the differential diagnosis in cases where the characteristics of the tumor do not correspond with the typical findings of submandibular gland tumors, in order to avoid inadvertent sacrifice of the nerve because of incorrect diagnosis of a salivary gland tumor. Herein, we report a lingual nerve neurilemmoma in the submandibular space, along with a literature review, to highlight the clinical significance and improve understanding of this type of tumor.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.115-117
• /
• 2018

Lingual nerve injury is a rare complication of general anesthesia. The causes of lingual nerve injury following general anesthesia are multifactorial; possible mechanisms may include difficult laryngoscopy, prolonged anterior mandibular displacement, improper placement of the oropharyngeal airway, macroglossia and tongue compression. In this report, we have described a case of bilateral lingual nerve injury that was associated with orotracheal intubation for open reduction and internal fixation of the left distal radius fracture in a 61-year-old woman. In this case, early treatment with dexamethasone effectively aided the recovery of the injured lingual nerve.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.171-183
• /
• 2023

Objectives: Understanding the lingual nerve's precise location is crucial to prevent iatrogenic injury. This systematic review seeks to determine the lingual nerve's most probable topographical location in the posterior mandible. Materials and Methods: Two electronic databases were searched, identifying studies reporting the lingual nerve's position in the posterior mandible. Anatomical data in the vertical and horizontal dimensions at the retromolar and molar regions were collected for meta-analyses. Results: Of the 2,700 unique records identified, 18 studies were included in this review. In the vertical plane, 8.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0%-21.7%) and 6.3% (95% CI, 1.9%-12.5%) of the lingual nerves coursed above the alveolar crest at the retromolar and third molar regions. The mean vertical distance between the nerve and the alveolar crest ranged from 12.10 to 4.32 mm at the first to third molar regions. In the horizontal plane, 19.9% (95% CI, 0.0%-62.7%) and 35.2% (95% CI, 13.0%-61.1%) of the lingual nerves were in contact with the lingual plate at the retromolar and third molar regions. Conclusion: This systematic review mapped out the anatomical location of the lingual nerve in the posterior mandible, highlighting regions that warrant additional caution during surgeries to avoid iatrogenic lingual nerve injuries.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.89-94
• /
• 2014

Local anesthesia known as the safe and essential procedure to control pain in dentistry may cause sensory changes such as paresthesia or altered taste at the affected sites after even successful local anesthesia. Although the prognosis of the nerve injuries after local anesthesia is favorable, it might cause prolonged problems such as dysesthesia. The lingual nerve is a single fascicle at the level of the lingual among 1/3 of patients and more movable during regeneration compared to the inferior alveolar nerve after the injury. As a result, the lingual nerve is more vulnerable and has poorer outcomes. More vigilant clinical considerations are required to the lingual nerve injury after local anesthesia. Generally, more than 80% of cases are spontaneously resolved within 2 weeks after the local anesthesia even without any specific treatment. However, the patient having long lasting abnormal sensations more than 2 weeks needs specialists' care for further assessment. In case of dysesthesia which is a symptom of neuropathic pain, immediate referral to specialists is mandatory. The exact mechanism, how to prevent its occurrence, or specific treatments of the nerve injury related to the local anesthesia have not been elucidated. To prepare clinical or medicolegal problems, many cautious considerations are given to the patients who complain sensory changes after local anesthesia.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.211-224
• /
• 2009

This retrospective study was to analyze the inferior alveolar nerve and lingual nerve damage after the removal of mandibular third molars. In this questionnaire study, the subjects chosen for this study were 2472 dentists who answered the questionnaire about numbness after the extraction of lower third molars. The data collected by E-mail and web site included the incidence of removal of the lower third molars, the incidence and the experience of numbness of the inferior alveolar nerve and lingual nerve, rate and duration of recovery, the influence in day life after the long-term sensory loss, the period and amount of the indemnity in the case of medical dispute. The results are summarized as follows. 1. The experience rate and the incidence rate of the inferior alveolar nerve numbness by oral surgeons in the past year were19.9% and 0.14%. Those of the lingual nerve by oral surgeon were 7.7% and 0.05%.2. The experience rate and the incidence rate of the inferior alveolar nerve numbness by the dentists except oral surgeons in the past year were 9.7% and 0.19%. Those of the lingual nerve by the dentists except oral surgeons were 5.5% and 0.11%.3. The recovery rate of the inferior alveolar nerve after 1 year and 2 years were 85.6% and 91.3%. The recovery rate of the lingual nerve after 1 year and 2 years were 84.8% and 89.3%.In conclusion, most of numbness may be recovered within 2 years. However the possibility of long term and persistent numbness should not be neglected. Therefore practitioner must inform the possibility of nerve injury and include this possibility in the consent forms.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• /
• v.41
• /
• pp.60.1-60.6
• /
• 2019

Background: The lingual nerve plays an important role in multiple functions, including gustatory sensation and contact sensitivity and thermosensitivity. Misdiagnosed conservative treatments for serious lingual nerve (LN) injuries can induce the patient to serious mental disability. After continuous observation and critical diagnosis of the injury, in cases involving significant disruption of lingual nerve function, microneurosurgical reconstruction of the nerve is recommended. Direct anastomosis of the torn nerve ends without tension is the recommended approach. However, in cases that present significant gaps between the injured nerve ends, nerve grafts or conduits (tubes of various materials) are employed. Recently, various reconstruction materials for peripheral nerves were commercially offered especially in the USA, but the best method and material is still unclear in the world. There currently exists no conventional protocol for managing LN neurosensory deficiency in regard to optimal methods and the timing for surgical repair. In Japan, the allograft collagen nerve for peripheral nerves reconstruction was permitted in 2017, and we tried to use this allograft nerve and got a recommendable result. Case presentation: This report is a long-term abandoned torn LN reconstructed with allograft nerve induced by the lower third molar extraction. Conclusions: In early sick period, with the exact diagnosis, the LN disturbance should be managed. In a serious condition, the reconstruction with allograft nerve is one of the recommendable methods.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.172-177
• /
• 2010

Background: Damages of trigeminal nerve, particularly inferior alveolar nerve and lingual nerve, could occur following dental procedures. In some cases, nerve damage may happen as a complication of the local anesthetic injection itself and not of the surgical procedure. Methods: From September 2006 to August 2010, 5 cases of inferior alveolar nerve and lingual nerve damages, which were assumed to happen solely due to local anesthesia, were reviewed. All cases were referred to Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Dentistry, Hanyang University Medical Center for legal authentication in the process of criminal procedure. Results: In all five cases, patients complained of altered sensation occurred in the distribution of the inferior alveolar or lingual nerve following block anesthesia. The local anesthetics were 2% lidocaine with 1 : 100,000 epinephrine and the amount of local anesthetics, which were used during injection, were varied. Most of patients experienced the electric stimulation during injection. Recovery was poor and professional supportive care was mostly absent. Conclusions: Dental practitioners should consider that the surgical procedure caused the trigeminal nerve damage, however, dental local anesthesia for inferior alveolar nerve and lingual nerve could be one of the causes for damages. The various mechanisms for nerve damages by local anesthesia are thoroughly discussed.