Truncal anaesthesia of the maxillary nerve for outpatient surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion

We present our experience of transcutaneous truncal anaesthesia of the maxillary nerve in association with transmucosal anaesthesia of the sphenopalatine ganglion in surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion. Twelve patients with a skeletal transverse discrepancy of the maxilla were treated in our department from 1994 to 1995. Maxillary transcutaneous nerve block was done with a Quincke 8 cm spinal needle together with transmucosal anaesthesia of the sphenopalatine ganglion. Mepivacaine without adrenaline and sodium bicarbonate 1/10 was used for truncal anaesthesia and lidocaine-prilocaine cream for transmucosal anaesthesia. A Le Fort I osteotomy, lateral nasal wall osteotomy, pterygomaxillary osteotomy, and a palatal osteotomy were done for all patients before the maxillary expansion. Total anaesthesia of the maxillary area facilitated the operations and appreciably reduced the amount of postoperative pain. The ease of achieving effective anaesthesia before and after operation and the absence of side-effects make this form of anaesthetic particularly useful in surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion.