title: [Influences of orthognathic surgery to facial skin sensation--an analysis with a new testing method].
abstract: This study introduces an original testing method on facial skin sensation and describes the results obtained by its application to patients after orthognathic surgery. The alterations of skin sensation in lower lip and chin area were examined in 135 patients who had undergone orthognathic surgery, by application of electrical stimulation through an original pencil shaped probe. Detection threshold of the same area before surgery were used as control, and the location and size of the area with thresholds higher than control levels were measured. The control thresholds ranged from 0.13 mA to 0.21 mA. The higher threshold area was found in 86.3% of all the patients in 1 month after surgery, in 27.7% after 1 year. The threshold levels declined with the time, and in none of the patients the threshold level was higher than 1.0 mA more than 2 years after surgery. The patients whose threshold level was more than 1.0 mA in 1 month postoperatively showed a tendency to have the area with a threshold higher than the control level even 1 year later (p < 0.0001). The threshold of the younger patients tended to improve smoothly than the older. In addition, the patients with a shorter set-back or advance distance had a slighter sensory disturbance and recovered more smoothly than those with a longer distance.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D004056:Differential Threshold; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009482:Neurophysiology / Q000379:methods; D056948:Orthognathic Surgical Procedures; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D012677:Sensation; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation*