A randomized controlled trial on cross-infection control in maxillofacial trauma surgery: a comparison of intermaxillary fixation techniques.

Glove perforations and percutaneous injuries occur commonly during the treatment of facial fractures and reveal the need for safer techniques, especially in intermaxillary fixation. The Rapid IMF device does not use any wires and may provide better cross-infection control than wiring methods. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that Rapid IMF is associated with fewer glove perforations/ percutaneous injuries than traditional wiring techniques. The authors carried out a randomized controlled trial which included 120 patients with fractures of the mandible requiring open reduction and fixation. The participants were allocated either to the study group and treated with intraoperative Rapid IMF or to the control group and managed with intraoperative eyelet wire ties. Analysis of the results showed that the Rapid IMF group had significantly fewer glove perforations than the traditional method (0.67 per operation compared with 1.5), (P<0.0001). The incidence of skin-penetrating injuries was the same in both groups (rate 0.02/ procedure). The application of Rapid IMF was significantly faster than wiring (P<0.0001). Minor intraoperative complications were noted in both groups, but more in the Rapid IMF group. Most concerned loosening or fracture of the anchorage ties but the surgical outcome was not affected. Rapid IMF is a safer alternative to wiring methods with significant reduction in glove perforation rates and is quicker to apply than conventional wiring techniques.

Patient-reported quality of life outcomes following treatment for oral cancer.

Patient-reported quality of life (QoL) outcomes have the potential to assist clinicians in providing individually tailored treatment decisions. QoL assessments were collected prospectively for 168 consecutive patients treated for oral cancer between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2014 using the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire. Patients were followed up for 18 months post-treatment. Sub-group analyses were performed using paired t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare the effects of adjunctive chemoradiotherapy, type of bone resection, and methods of soft and hard tissue flap reconstruction. The greatest statistically significant reduction in QoL for all oral cavity sub-sites was found following the treatment of floor of mouth tumours (-18.9%, P=0.018). Laser excision for matched patient cohorts resulted in improved resultant QoL compared to other excision techniques (P=0.0002). No significant difference in QoL was found when radial forearm and anterolateral thigh flaps were matched, or when fibula and scapula flaps were matched. These findings support the use of laser excision and the avoidance of postoperative radiotherapy if curative intent and survival outcomes are maintained.

Health-related quality of life after maxillectomy: obturator rehabilitation compared with flap reconstruction.

Health-related quality of life (QoL) reported by patients has the potential to improve care after ablative surgery of the midface, as existing treatment algorithms still generally revolve around outcomes assessed traditionally only by clinicians. Decisions in particular relate to reconstruction with a flap compared with rehabilitation with an obturator, the need for adjuvant treatment, and morbidity related to the size of the defect. We prospectively collected health-related QoL assessments for 39 consecutive patients treated by maxillectomy between 01 January 2010 and 31 December 2014 using the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire, and who had a mean (SD) duration of follow-up of 14 (4). We made sub-group analyses using paired t tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare reconstruction with a flap with rehabilitation with obturators, size of the vertical defect, and whether adjuvant treatment with radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy adversely affected it. Overall there was a significant decrease in health-related QoL after treatment compared with before (p<0.001), but there was no significant difference in the effects of any of the paired reconstructive and rehabilitation treatments on it. Obturators remain an important option for rehabilitation in selected patients in addition to reconstruction with a flap. We found that neither increasing the size of the vertical defect (in an attempt to ensure clear margins) nor the use of postoperative radiotherapy seemed to have any adverse effect on QoL. More patients are required before we can conclude that the potential survival benefits of such measures may outweigh any adverse effects.

Massive sublingual haematoma following osseo-integrated implant placement in the anterior mandible.

The floor of the mouth is a very vascular area. Should perforation of the lingual cortex of the mandible occur during the placement of an osseo-integrated implant, significant haemorrhage may result. We present the case of a patient who attended our unit with acute airway obstruction. Although life threatening haematoma following the placement of osseo-integrated implants in the interforaminal area of the mandible is known to occur, there continue to be sporadic reports in the literature. This shows that some practitioners are unaware of the risks involved and place implants of the wrong size and orientation.

[Surgical removal of a lower semimpacted wisdom tooth displaced in the pterygomandibular space]. / Cheirourgike aphairese sophronistera tes kato gnathou apothemenou ston pterygognathiaio choro. Parousiase periptoseos.

In the case which is reported in this paper there was a dislodgement of a semimpacted lower left third molar (38) into the pterygomandibular space, from a removal attempt, without the usual fracture of the lingual plate of the alveolar bone. There is an anatomical description of the pterygomandibular space, the operative complications during removal of impacted lower teeth and more specific the displacement of teeth or roots into adjacent soft tissues, ways of prevention and treatment of such complications. Finally, we describe the technique which we followed to extract the dislocated lower molar in our case.

[Apicoectomy and reverse filling procedure in posterior teeth]. / Akrorrhizektomes kai anastrophes emphraxeis opisthion odonton.

In this paper, we present the apicoectomy with reverse filling procedure in posterior teeth, as an alternative surgical method, in those cases where conservative endodontic treatment is unable or fails to bring successful results (prosthetic restorations, broken instruments, calcified and tortuous root canals, dens in dente, unfinished root apex). We choose to restrict our presentation in posterior teeth where the surgical procedure is more difficult due to anatomical conditions (maxillary sinus, mandibular canal, number of root canals, inaccessible posterior oral cavity, etc). We analyse the indications of such an operation and the elements we examine to evaluate the cases. We are showing the different stages of the operation as well as the usage of original instruments for the retrograde amalgam procedure. There is a further discussion on problems from the usage of the filling material, the dental amalgam, and, the problems throughout the procedure (level and degree of the apical bevel, cavity preparation, etc).