Expanding the Surgeon's Armamentarium: Use of the Tubing Technique to Preserve the Inferior Alveolar Nerve During Transposition Procedure

Severe edentulous posterior mandible atrophy with inadequate bone height superior to the inferior alveolar canal may increase the risk of neurosensory impairment and other complications during inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) transposition (IANT) prior to dental implant insertion. The current report describes the tubing technique as a practical and feasible procedure that ensures IAN preservation during IANT. The technique involves wrapping a standard suction catheter around the exposed nerve to facilitate full coverage. This work presents a retrospective review of 31 patients undergoing IANT procedures followed by immediate placement of dental implants between January 2015 and January 2020. IANT was performed either unilaterally or bilaterally on all patients, followed by IAN tubing before implant placement. A total of 46 IANT procedures involving the tubing technique were performed. Overall, 149 dental implants were inserted during IANT surgeries, with a success rate of 98.6%. Sensory disturbance was documented in 47.8% of the treated sites (left/right mandible) at 1 month (22/46 sites), 21.7% at 3 months (10/46 sites), 6.5% at 6 months (3/46 sites), and 2.2% at 12 months (1/46 sites) postimplantation. In total, except for 1 case, sensory disturbance was fully resolved by the end of the 12-month follow-up period. Taken together, the tubing technique described herein is a practical and reproducible method for protecting the IAN during transposition.