Reconstruction of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) following segmental mandibulectomy presents microsurgical challenges. Traditional neurorrhaphy using microsutures can be technically demanding, time-consuming, and may induce local trauma to the nerve graft. The authors report the case of a 52-year-old male with osteoradionecrosis of the mandible who underwent segmental mandibulectomy and immediate reconstruction of the IAN using an allogeneic nerve graft. For restoration of IAN continuity, a processed nerve allograft (Avance Nerve Graft, Axogen, Alachua, FL) was secured using Nerve Tape (BioCircuit Technologies Inc, Atlanta, GA), a sutureless coaptation device constructed with biological scaffold material and nitinol microhook technology to secure and align nerve ends. This product is composed of acellularized porcine small intestinal submucosal (SIS) tissue, like the Axoguard wrap, providing comparable handling and integration properties. This approach allowed rapid, atraumatic indirect neurorrhaphy of the IAN. Postoperative follow-up will be performed to determine whether progressive neurosensory recovery has occurred. Nerve Tape offers a promising alternative for nerve coaptation in trigeminal nerve reconstruction.
Levy et al. (Thu,) studied this question.