AIM: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of local application of triamcinolone acetonide combined with mouse nerve growth factor in the treatment of infraorbital nerve injury after infraorbital wall fracture.

METHODS: Forty-three patients(43 eyes)with infraorbital wall fractures who underwent infraorbital wall fracture revision from April 2020 to February 2021 at the Affiliated Eye Hospital of Nanchang University were prospectively analyzed. Patients were randomly divided into two groups, in which 20 patients(20 eyes)in the experimental group had gelatin sponges infiltrated with triamcinolone acetonide and mouse nerve growth factor placed on the nerve injury intraoperatively; 23 patients(23 eyes)in the control group had no special treatment intraoperatively. At 6mo postoperative follow-up, the results of quantitative sensory testing(two-point localization, nociception, and touch)were compared between the affected and healthy lower lid areas, and the results were reported in an asymmetry index(AI).

RESULTS: Baseline results showed no significant differences between the two groups in terms of gender, age, time of injury, and preoperative sensory testing between the two groups(all P>0.05). The AI values of two-point localization sensation, tactile sensation, and pain sensation in both groups were higher at 1wk after surgery than before surgery(all P<0.05), and the symptoms of sensory impairment were aggravated, with different degrees of improvement at 1mo after surgery and statistically significant differences in pain sensation at 3mo after surgery(P<0.05), and two-point localization sensation, tactile sensation, and pain sensation were significantly improved at 6mo after surgery than before treatment(all P<0.01). At 1mo after surgery, the differences in two-point localization sensation and pain sensation in the test group were statistically significant compared with the control group(t=-2.082,-2.143; P=0.044, 0.038). At 3mo after surgery, there was a statistically significant difference in nociception in the test group compared to the control group(t=-2.118, P=0.04). At 6mo after surgery, there was no statistically significant difference in quantitative sensory testing between the two groups(P >0.05).

CONCLUSION: Local application of triamcinolone acetonide combined with mouse nerve growth factor for the treatment of infraorbital nerve injury after infraorbital wall fracture was effective in early internal recovery and superior to the group without special intraoperative treatment.