Nerve Repair Surgery
Occasionally, nerves in the head and neck region can be injured as a result of trauma or even during a surgical procedure. Even if the procedure is performed well, anatomy differs from patient to patient and sometimes nerves may be injured. Dr. Steinberg is known in this area for his expertise in diagnosing and treating these types of injuries.
Many of the injuries are mild and involve bruising of the nerve that may cause some transient numbness of the area of the skin or mouth that the nerve supplies. These types of injuries may undergo spontaneous recovery. Dr. Steinberg can monitor this situation with serial neurosensory examinations to follow the recovery of the sensation.
Sometimes these types of injuries may be more severe, and be due to a nerve that is cut or torn. Depending on the severity, these types of injuries may not recover on their own. Some will require surgery to restore feeling to the affected area. Dr. Steinberg performs surgical procedures that can splice the injured ends of the nerve together which helps to restore the sensation. More severe injuries may require a nerve graft to repair the ends of a severed nerve.