Sensory Re-Training Following Facial Surgery for Correction of Facial Skeletal Disharmony

Phase 3

Completed

• Conditions: Mandibular Advancement
• Interventions: Behavioral: Opening Exercises; Behavioral: Sensory Re-training; Behavioral: Sensory Retraining

• Registration Number: NCT00078507
• Lead Sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether facial exercises in conjunction with opening exercises routinely provided after facial surgery to correct a facial skeletal disharmony will shorten the time until a patient receives no unpleasant or negative facial sensation.

Detailed Description

Abnormal facial sensation has a negative impact on patients' oral behaviors and may adversely affect a patient's quality of life if the altered sensation persists. Many patients with abnormal sensations retain some sensory function and do not develop chronic pain, and for those individuals there are currently no evidence-based noninvasive therapies. The goal of this project is to evaluate sensory re-training, a rehabilitative therapy that offers significant potential for patients who experience impaired sensory function regardless of the cause. This behavioral therapy approach has been used with substantial clinical success with hand injury patients since the 1970s. Re-training appears to enhance central reorganization of impulses from an injured sensory nerve to the cerebral cortex so that the altered sensory signals can be interpreted and translated into functionally meaningful motor functions.

Sensory re-training will be compared to a placebo jaw-opening exercise in a single blind, randomized two-arm parallel group stratified block clinical trial, using orthognathic surgery patients as subjects. Orthognathic surgery patients offer an uncompromised model for the evaluation of new rehabilitative therapies. These healthy individuals, treated to correct dentofacial deformity, present for surgery with no neurosensory impairment, but yet routinely experience substantial alterations in facial sensation following the surgical procedure. The effects of sensory re-training will be evaluated using three types of outcomes: patient-centered measures to assess the magnitude of the negative effect of altered sensation after surgery and the recovery time needed to reach little or no negative effect; neurosensory behavior measures to assess the patient's ability to learn alternate cues for touch perception and discrimination; and a conventional neurosensory contact threshold measure to assess the actual deficit. Our primary focus will be on the patient's perception of the negative impact of altered sensation on daily life.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2001-12
• Study First Submitted: 2004-03-01
• Study First Submitted QC: 2004-03-02
• Study First Posted: 2004-03-03
• Primary Completion: 2007-01
• Study Completion: 2007-03
• Status Verified: 2010-02
• Last Update Submitted: 2010-02-02
• Last Update Posted: 2010-02-03

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 186

Inclusion Criteria

• Developmental dentofacial disharmony
• Receives mandibular advancement by mandibular osteotomy with or without a maxillary procedure.

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Exclusion Criteria

• Congenital anomaly or acute trauma affecting the face.
• Previous facial surgery
• Pregnant at baseline
• Inability to follow written English instructions
• Unwilling to sign informed consent.
• No altered sensation at one week post-surgery
• Altered sensation at baseline reported as numbness or unusual feeling.
• Medical condition associated with systemic neuropathy.

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Opening Exercises Only	Opening Exercises	Standard of care opening exercises following BSSO surgery to regain mouth opening
Sensory Retraining Exercises	Sensory Re-training	3 sets of facial exercises performed with soft cosmetic brush 1 wk - 4 wks after surgery; 4wks to 3 mos after surgery; 3 mos to 6 mos after surgery.
Sensory Retraining Exercises	Sensory Retraining	3 sets of facial exercises performed with soft cosmetic brush 1 wk - 4 wks after surgery; 4wks to 3 mos after surgery; 3 mos to 6 mos after surgery.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Perception of altered function
Two-point threshold
Two point discrimination
Contact detection
Perception of altered sensation

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

University Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; 🇺🇸 Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

School of Dentistry; 🇺🇸 Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States