[Evaluating methods and effects of repairing injured lingual nerves on human]

We evaluated the regenerations of sense and taste on the anterior 2/3 of the tongue following repairing injured lingual nerve. Injured lingual nerves in 14 patients were repaired with anastomosis of the nerve epineurium. On the anterior 2/3 of the ipsilateral tongue, most of the fungiform papillae atrophied and disappeared, the sense and taste degenerated after severe injury to lingual nerve. Following repair of the injured lingual nerve with anastomosis of nerve epineurium, the papillae and their taste pores can regenerated, 50% of the patients recovered their tongue sense and 35.71% of the patients recovered their tongue taste 1 year after the repair. It is objective, accurate and reliable to evaluate the regenerations of sense and taste on the anterior 2/3 of the tongue after repair of injured lingual nerve by sensory test, taste evaluation, quantitative observation of fungiform papillae, and their taste pores.