Blocks of the foramen rotundum and the oval foramen: a reappraisal of extraoral maxillary and mandibular nerve injections

Objective—To present our experience of regional anaesthesia with blocks of the foramen rotundum and the oval foramen. Design—Open study. Setting—University Hospital, Beograd, Yugoslavia. Subjects-107 patients who underwent 58 maxillary and 49 mandibular nerve blocks. Interventions-Injection of 2% lignocaine with adrenaline 1/80000 with an 18 G venflon or 20 G spinal needle. Main outcome measures—Quality of anaesthesia and morbidity. Results—49 of the 58 maxillary (84%) and 45 of the 49 mandibular (92%) nerve blocks were successful (no sensitivity to pinprick in the distribution of the injected nerve and a painless operation). There were 17 complications (26%), 8 in the maxillary and 9 in the mandibular group. All complications were minor and transient, and 6 could be attributed to anhydrous glycerol rather than the injection technique itself. Conclusion—Blocks of the foramen rotundum and the oval foramen achieve good regional anaesthesia in the maxillofacial region.