DEHISCENCE OF THE GREATER PALATINE NERVE - A RISK FACTOR IN INFERIOR TURBINECTOMY

Inferior turbinectomy, often combined with septal surgery, is frequent ly performed in the surgical treatment of nasal obstruction. A patient with post-operative greater palatine anaesthesia occurring after this procedure prompted a study of the anatomy of the greater palatine ner ve in the region of the inferior turbinate. Sixty-four lateral nasal w alls were examined in cadavers. A dehiscence rate of 22% was noted, an d in an additional 55% there was only a minimal bony covering to the n erve. Dehiscences occurred exclusively in the inferior meatus, anterio r to the posterior bony end of the inferior turbinate. The narrow ante ro-posterior extent of the dehiscence, the hard dense lateral nasal wa ll bone and the lateral position of the nerve in the canal help to pro tect the nerve from surgical trauma during turbinate surgery.