neurosensory changes of palatal mucousa following le fort i osteotomy

background : this study evaluated the sensation of palatal ucosa before and after le fort i osteotomy and compared it based on whether greater palatine nerve has been dissected or not. methods : sixteen patients were studied within one week before  urgery and then one week, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months after surgery. four tests including sharp-blunt discrimination, cold perception, pin prick sensation and electrical stimulation were performed. results : mean values of electrical stimulation were significantly higher 6 months after surgery (p < 0.05), on the other hand mean values of pin-prick sensation were significantly lower (p < 0.05). all patients regardless of the condition of greater palatine nerve were responsive to cold perception and sharp-blunt discrimination 6 months after surgery. conclusions : following le fort i osteotomy, palatal  esponsiveness to electrical stimulation decreases and mechanical hyper sensitization occurs. dissection of greater palatine nerve was shown to have no effect on the results. keywords : lefort i osteotomy, palatal mocousa, nerve recovery.