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Neurophysiological monitoring of alveolar nerve function during sensor-controlled Er:YAG laser corticotomy in rabbits
Stephan Rupprecht1, Katja Tangermann-Gerk, Stefan Schultze-Mosgau
1Department of Oral & Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Glückstrasse 11, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany.
Background And Objectives:
The sensor-controlled Er:YAG laser system may be a potent tool for tissue specific cutting in surgery. In order to investigate the impact of the laser on neural tissues, inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) function was monitored by the jaw-opening reflex (JOR) during specific corticotomy in rabbits.
Study Design/Materials And Methods:
Laser jaw corticotomy was performed in 13 anesthetized rabbits. During and after specific corticotomy the JOR was evoked by electric intraoral stimulation to monitor effects on IAN function.
Results:
The JOR permanently abolished in one case and transiently failed immediately after surgery but largely recovered within days in another rabbit. In one experiment JOR threshold increased 7 days after corticotomy. Histology did not prove any objective nerve pathology.
Conclusions:
Monitoring IAN function by the JOR demonstrated the relatively low risk of nerve damaging during sensor-controlled laser corticotomy.
