Patient satisfaction after trigeminal nerve repair.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to measure patient satisfaction and to evaluate the factors influencing patients' perceptions of the outcome of inferior alveolar nerve or lingual nerve repair.


METHODS
We used a retrospective cohort study design and a sample of patients who underwent repair of inferior alveolar nerve or lingual nerve injuries. The major outcome variable was the patient's overall satisfaction with treatment. The patient's satisfaction was rated as either good to excellent (group A) or fair to poor (group B).


RESULTS
The study sample was composed of 46 patients with a mean age of 28 +/- 12 years; 76% were female. Fifty-five percent of the sample reported their overall satisfaction to be good to excellent. No individual predictor factors were statistically associated with patient satisfaction. Among the outcome variables, the measures of taste, pronunciation, self-consciousness, and function were statistically significantly different (P <.05) between the 2 groups.


CONCLUSIONS
After nerve repair, more than half of the patients rated their overall satisfaction with the operative results to be good to excellent.
School of Dental Medicine, Harvard University, Boston, Mass, USA.
Natalie P
NP
Lam
R Bruce
RB
Donoff
Leonard B
LB
Kaban
Thomas B
TB
Dodson
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008036:Lingual Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D061222:Lingual Nerve Injuries; D008297:Male; D008340:Mandibular Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012649:Self Concept; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D061221:Trigeminal Nerve Injuries