Epignathus (Palatal teratoma):A case report.

BACKGROUND: A case of a 2.7kg term baby with a large epignathus, a rare congenital teratoma arising from the palate is presented. Birth was by spontaneous vaginal delivery (SVD). The baby survived following a timely multidisciplinary approach to her management. This is the first reported case in Ghana.

Maxillofacial and concomitant injuries in multiple injured patients at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Patients with maxillofacial injuries may sustain concomitant injuries. The presentation of other injuries may be the initial focus of attention of the primary attending surgeon who may miss the maxillofacial injuries to the detriment of the patient. OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of injuries associated with maxillofacial injuries at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) from January 2009 to December 2010. METHODS: A prospective study was carried out on patients who were referred to the Maxillofacial Unit of the University of Ghana Dental School and KBTH over the two years with maxillofacial injuries. Their age, sex, type of injury in the maxillofacial region, its aetiology and concomitant injuries were charted. The data was analysed using SPSS 16.0 software. RESULTS: Two hundred and fifty eight (258) patients were seen of which 67 (26.0%) had concomitant injuries. The average age was 29.1 years. The peak incidence was in the age group 21-30 (N=73, 28.3%). 74% were male and 26.0% female. The commonest cause of injury was road traffic accident (RTA) (N=142;55.0%). 52.7% (N=136) of the patients had injuries of the maxillofacial region. 26.7% (N=69) had mandibular fractures, 19.4% (N=50) had middle third fractures and 8.1% (N=21) had fractures of both. Concomitant injuries were mainly orthopaedic (N=31;12%) and the head and spinal region (N=29;11.2%). CONCLUSION: A significant number of patients who suffer maxillofacial injuries also sustain injuries of other parts of the body at KBTH. Prompt multidisciplinary management may contribute to improved outcomes.

Orofacial tumours and tumour-like lesions in Ghana: a 6-year prospective study.

A total of 182 patients with orofacial tumours and tumour-like lesions who attended the oral and maxillofacial surgical department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, were studied from 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2003. Both malignant and benign tumours were recorded and were more common among men (99/182, 54%) in whom they were seen most often between the ages of 41 and 70 years. Among female patients they were more common in the 11-20 year age group. The mandible, maxilla, and palate were most often affected. A total of 108 tumours were diagnosed as malignant (59%), 27 (15%) as benign odontogenic tumours, and 47 (26%) as benign non-odontogenic and tumour-like lesions. Malignant tumours were usually detected in men between the ages of 41 and 70 years (43% of all men); whilst benign tumours were evenly distributed between the sexes with more among girls in the 11-20 year age group. The most common malignant tumours were squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), (69/108, 64%) and lymphomas (18/108, 17%). The predominant benign odontogenic and non-odontogenic tumours were ameloblastoma and fibro-osseous lesions, respectively. The usual method of treatment was resection (58/182, 32%).

Prostate cancer metastasis to the mandible: case report.

Prostate cancer is recognised to be the commonest type of malignancy in the male in many parts of the world. Prostate cancer has a propensity to metastasize to bone, however metastasis to the jaw is uncommon and indeed among metastatic tumours of the jaws which are a rarity, only about 9% originate from a prostatic primary. We report a case of histologically proven metastatic prostate cancer to the right mandible which necessitated a hemi-mandibulectomy in order to improve the patient's quality of life.