Master’s Degree Awarded to Mr. Hisham Huwaiti in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Mr. Hisham Sulaiman Hasan Huwaiti was awarded a Master degree with an overall grade of (Excellent), for his thesis, titled “Inferior Alveolar Nerve Transposition and Dental Implant Placement in Severely Atrophic Mandibles of Yemeni Patients in Sana’a City,” which was submitted to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry – Sana’a University. The MA thesis defense was held on Muharram 8, 1447 Hijri, corresponding to July 3, 2025.

The MA Viva-voce Committee, which was formed based on a resolution issued by the Post-Graduate Studies and Scientific Research Council, consisted of the following members:

Main Supervisor: Dr. Yaser Al-Rubaidi
Internal Examiner and Chair: Assoc. Prof. Taghreed Ahmed Mohammed Al-Kebsi
External Examiner: Assoc. Prof. Ahmed Al-Khatri

The thesis aimed to evaluate the relationship between postoperative nerve sensory disturbances one day after the procedure and during follow-up periods.

Key findings of the thesis include:

The majority of patients in the study were male (78.77%), with ages ranging from 24 to 72 years and an average age of 16±22.56 years.
Approximately half of the patients (56.55%) underwent surgery on the right side, while 44.44% had surgery on the left side.
All patients (100%) experienced numbness during the first day and the first week post-surgery.
At the one-month postoperative assessment, approximately half of the patients (44.4%) reported no nerve sensory disturbances, while 33.3% reported moderate numbness, and 22.3% reported mild numbness.
Three months after surgery, over half of the patients (55.6%) experienced mild numbness, while 33.3% reported complete recovery, and 11.1% (only one patient) reported complete anesthesia.
All but one patient (88.9%) recovered, with only one patient (11.1%) continuing to experience numbness.

The thesis concluded with several recommendations, including:

Larger, multi-center studies with extended follow-up periods are recommended to validate these findings and further explore the long-term effects of various biomaterials on nerve regeneration.
Comparative studies involving emerging regenerative materials may yield valuable insights.
Standardized sensory testing protocols should be adopted to improve the comparability of future research. Standardized protocols for evaluating neurosensory disturbances (quantitatively and qualitatively) should be implemented in clinical studies involving dental implants or mandibular surgeries.

The thesis was examined and recommended by the Viva-Voce Committee for acceptance and approval. The thesis defense was well-attended by a distinguished audience of academics, researchers, students, and interested individuals, alongside the researcher’s colleagues and family members.