REPAIR OF THE LINGUAL NERVE AFTE PIATROGENIC INJURY - A FOLLOW-UP-STUDY OF RETURN OF SENSATION AND TASTE

Purpose: To evaluate the return of sensation and taste after surgical repair of the lingual nerve in patients who had experienced lingual ne rve sectioning.Patients and Methods: Average follow-up was 3.7 years w ith a range of 1.1 to 4.6 yrs. The patients' assessment of tongue sens ation and taste was registered. Clinical testing for sensibility inclu ded light touch, prick, sharp/dull discrimination, heat (45-degrees-C) , cold (0-degree-C), anterior/posterior localization of touch, percept ion of direction of touch movement, and two-point discrimination. The sense of taste was tested with sweet (saccharose 5%), sour (citric aci d 5%), salt (saline 5%), and bitter (chininhydro-chloride 0.5%). Resul ts: Three patients rated their tongue sensation on the affected side a s normal, another three scored subnormal, and one felt no sensibility. Likewise, four patients thought that their sense of taste was normal, two were undecided, and one felt no sense of taste on the affected si de. The ability to differentiate the quality of taste on the operated side of the tongue was validated in four of 24 tests. Conversely, on t he healthy side of the tongue, two of 24 tests proved negative for tas te perception. Conclusion: There was a notable difference in the patie nts' assessment of normality of tongue sensation versus the result of neurological testing. Likewise, there was a remarkable difference betw een the patients' subjective impression of gustatory capability and th eir ability to diagnose the quality of taste on testing.