Complications of trigeminal nerve repair

Injuries to the terminal branches of the trigeminal nerve often heal spontaneously without medical or surgical intervention. In those patients that require treatment, there are a number of complications that may arise from care of these nerve injuries. These adverse sequelae may be at the site of nerve injury, at the nerve graft donor site, or related to the side effects of medications used for neuropathic pain or dysesthesia. In addition, the failure to achieve patient expectations of outcome, or surgeon expectations of success, is also a potentially avoidable but unfortunately a common complication. This chapter will attempt to address adverse outcomes of trigeminal nerve treatment including surgical site complications, donor site complications, and complications of medical management including systemic medications, local injections, or neuroablative techniques.