Question regarding nerves and surgery

[thefifthseal]

I'm wondering how a surgeon will know if/when he makes an incision and hits a nerve? Does a nerve have a different feel underneath a scalpel?

[JHMD]

No - it doesn't. That's why a surgeon must know his anatomy and be skilled in dissection so that he/she identifies the anatomic structures accurately. Failure to do so may result in a malpractice case, e,g, accidently cutting the recurrent laryngeal nerve in thyroid surgery leading to vocalization problems, etc.

[AUCMD2006]

you don't use the knife much after the initial incision, you use instruments to do blunt dissection, feel around, and use the bovie and mayos usually. surgeons know their anatomny extremely well