Endoscopically assisted reduction of anterior table frontal sinus fractures.

AIMS: To present a retrospective series of six patients with endoscopically assisted reduction of anterior table frontal sinus fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The patients with isolated anterior table fractures were treated between April 2005 and June 2006 in the Leiden University Medical Centre. In two of the six patients the procedure was performed under local anaesthesia. The endoscope was introduced via existing lacerations, an incision in a natural skin crease or just above the hairline. The fracture was reduced and if necessary fixed. RESULTS: In all patients restoration of the cosmetic deformity was achieved clinically. CONCLUSION: The use of endoscopes makes minimally invasive reduction of outer table fractures of the frontal sinus possible, even under local anaesthesia.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment of osteoradionecrosis of the mandible. Experience in 29 patients.

In recent years hyperbaric oxygen has gained an important role in the treatment of osteoradionecrosis of the mandible. In the treatment of 29 patients with osteoradionecrosis of the mandible, a combination of surgical debridement, antibiotics, and hyperbaric oxygen was used in 27 cases. In 20 of the 29 patients the osteoradionecrosis was considered to be resolved after treatment. In 31% of the patients, the continuity of the mandible was lost. It was concluded that combined treatment of surgical debridement, antibiotics, and hyperbaric oxygen gives acceptable results and may, when used in an early phase of the disease, limit the number of patients who lose continuity of the mandible.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment of osteoradionecrosis of the mandible with repeated pathologic fracture. Report of a case.

Treatment of patients with osteoradionecrosis of the mandible with a pathologic fracture consists in almost all cases of a continuity resection of the mandible. This leads to functional and esthetic problems that can only be solved by often extensive surgery. In this case report we present a 38-year-old woman who developed osteoradionecrosis of the mandible with a pathologic fracture 1 1/2 years after combined surgical and radiation therapy of an adenocarcinoma of the right parotid gland. The patient had a subcondylar pathologic fracture together with osteolysis in the right mandibular body, normally an indication for partial resection of the mandible. Because of the absence of denuded bone, fistulation, and the poor quality of the surrounding soft tissues, a more conservative approach was chosen. Treatment consisted of hyperbaric oxygen and dental extractions with alveolectomy with the patient under local anesthesia. During follow-up, a second pathologic fracture occurred in the region of the right first and second molar. No additional treatment was given. Six and one-half years after the initial treatment and 5 1/2 years after the last fracture, the patient is free of complaints, the fractures have healed and both esthetic and functional results are good.

Diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis (chronic tendoperiostitis) of the mandible. An 11-year follow-up report.

Diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis of the mandible is a disease that is characterized by a protracted course of recurrent pain, swelling of the cheek, and trismus. The cause of the lesion has been obscure for a long period of time. Recent research, however, pointed out that this disease is likely to be caused by overuse of the jaw musculature (chronic tendoperiostitis) and can be treated accordingly. The protracted course of the disease and the difficulty of treatment with an eventual positive outcome are illustrated by a case report of a 65-year-old man with an 11-year history of diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis (chronic tendoperiostitis) of the mandible.

Diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis of the mandible: a new concept of its etiology.

Diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis of the mandible is a disease of unknown etiology. The clinical and radiographic findings suggest an infectious origin, but bacteriologic and histologic findings do not support this concept. Analysis of clinical symptoms, localization of the condition, and posttreatment findings in a group of 27 patients suggest a chronic tendoperiostitis due to muscular overuse as an etiologic factor in diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis of the mandible. This hypothesis was supported by the initial results of muscle relaxation treatment in 13 of these patients.

Mandibular atrophy and metabolic bone loss. Histomorphometry of iliac crest biopsies in 74 patients.

Histomorphometry of iliac crest biopsies of 74 edentulous patients with severe atrophy of the mandible submitted for ridge augmentation, showed a minority of the patients (14%) to have a significant decrease of trabecular bone volume, indicating osteoporosis. On the other hand, osteoid volume, osteoid seam thickness and active resorption surface, parameters for disturbances in mineralization, lack of calcium and hyperfunction of parathyroid glands, were significantly increased by 38%, 88% and 65% of the patients, respectively. These findings were more pronounced in the patients with radiological evidence of metabolic bone loss (38%, Gonion less than 1). It may be concluded that metabolic bone loss, due to a lack of calcium and a subsequent hyperfunction of the parathyroid glands, plays a role in the etiology of severe atrophy of the edentulous mandible. which therefore might be prevented by supplementing with calcium with or without vitamin D.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment of chronic osteomyelitis of the jaws.

A review of the literature on treatment of chronic osteomyelitis of the jaws shows that hyperbaric oxygen is often recommended as an adjunct in treatment of this disease. Definite criteria to indicate this treatment and to evaluate the results have not been reported. The results of hyperbaric oxygen treatment of chronic osteomyelitis of the jaws in 16 patients are presented. In contrast to the good results reported in the literature, only 7 of our patients could be considered as cured. The reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. Our results, as well as the data from the literature, indicate that a combined antibiotic and surgical approach is the treatment of choice in chronic suppurative osteomyelitis. However, in chronic diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis and in patients in whom decortication and antibiotic therapy have failed, hyperbaric oxygen treatment in combination with antibiotics and surgery seems to be indicated.