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Microneurosurgery

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The History of Maxillofacial Surgery

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Abstract

The development of nerve repair was limited for millennia by a poor understanding of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. Even throughout the 1800s, surgical intervention for nerve maladies was limited almost exclusively to resections, as any attempt at repairing nerves seemed to inevitably lead to failure. With the wars of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a significant increase in peripheral nerve injuries occurred, and these patients were met with increased interest among surgeons. In what would be unimaginable conditions today, these surgeons began to repair and reconstruct nerve injuries on the battlefield. Coinciding with a greater understanding of the degeneration and regeneration of nerves and improved magnification of loupes and microscopes, significant advancements began to occur. The pioneer surgeons discussed below have all advanced the field of nerve repair, through persistent innovation, occasional self-experimentation, as well as improvement and adaptation of microneurosurgical techniques, ongoing research and publications, and a dedicated focus on patient quality of life and achieving positive outcomes following nerve repair.

“The patient is never to be abandoned to his sufferings.”

– John Collins Warren (1829)

“Although the interests of clinicians in peripheral nerve injuries seems to wax in wartime and wane when peace comes, the peripheral nervous system has few rivals in the fascination it has exerted over the minds of workers in many fields of medical science.”

– Sir Herbert Seddon (1943)

“The resolving power of the unaided eye does not permit an appreciation of the problem nor a true appraisal of nerve suture.”

– James W. Smith (1964)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Benjamin Palla, Preston Dekker & Michael Miloro

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  1. Benjamin Palla
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  2. Preston Dekker
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  3. Michael Miloro
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Correspondence to Benjamin Palla .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Greater Waterbury OMS, Beau Visage Med Spa Partner, Cheshire, CT, USA

    Elie M. Ferneini

  2. Division of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, USA

    Michael T. Goupil

  3. Columbia University Irving Med Center, NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA

    Steven Halepas

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Palla, B., Dekker, P., Miloro, M. (2022). Microneurosurgery. In: Ferneini, E.M., Goupil, M.T., Halepas, S. (eds) The History of Maxillofacial Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89563-1_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89563-1_17

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