• Wirinaree Kampitak, Tanvaa Tansatit, and Yasuyuki Shibata.
• From the Department of Anesthesiology, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, The Thai Red Cross Society and Faculty of Medicine, and.
• Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2018 Oct 1; 43 (7): 763-767.

Background And ObjectivesWe aimed to describe a novel technique of ultrasound-guided selective mandibular nerve block with a lateral pterygoid plate (LPP) approach and to assess its feasibility and accuracy in a soft cadaver model.MethodsTen soft cadavers were studied. A curved array ultrasound transducer was applied over 1 side of the face of the cadaver, in an open-mouth position. The transducer was placed transversely below the zygomatic arch and tilted in the caudal-to-cranial direction to identify the boundary of the LPP. The needle was inserted in-plane, in an anterior-to-posterior direction, into the posterior border of the uppermost part of the LPP, and 3 mL of methylene blue was injected.ResultsMandibular nerve block was successfully performed in all 10 cadavers using an LPP approach under ultrasound guidance. The mandibular nerve and its branches were seen to be stained with methylene blue in all cadaveric specimens. No accidental injection into the facial nerve or maxillary artery was observed.ConclusionsThis cadaveric study suggests that this novel technique, using an LPP approach under ultrasound guidance, is helpful for selective mandibular nerve block, with high accuracy and feasibility. Further studies are required to establish its safety and efficacy for clinical application.Clinical Trial RegistrationThis study was registered at the Thai Clinical Trials Registry (ClinicalTrials.in.th), identifier TCTR20160601004.

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