title: A Practical Surgical Technique to Expose the Mental Nerve in Narrowing Genioplasty.
abstract: In this article, the authors present a practical surgical technique using the anatomical character of the inferior alveolar nerve to fully expose the mental nerve (MN) in narrowing genioplasty. During the procedure, a rectangular mandibular outer cortex adjacent to the mental foramen is removed before the osteotomy. The objective is to avoid the injury of the MN from the reciprocating saw or bur and offer abundant space for the surgical operation. The technique has a minimal learning curve and will be useful to plastic surgeons to minimize unintentional cutting or pulling injury to the MN in narrowing genioplasty.
authors.affiliation: Craniofacial Center One, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chenglong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Craniofacial Center One, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lai
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gui
authors.affiliation: Craniofacial Center One, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu