Intercurrent infectious diseases in post-stem cell transplant patients: paranasal sinusitis.

Improvements in treatments available for oncohematologic diseases have made it possible to treat patients at more advanced stages of the disease and thus at greater risk of fungal, bacterial, and viral infections; these may be extensive and have aggressive evolution. In particular, chemotherapy at high doses and allogenic bone marrow transplant expose patients to an increased risk of infection, especially because of the period of aplasia and the condition of immune depression subsequent to the procedure. We presented a case of a 15-year-old adolescent girl diagnosed with combined relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia 2 years after completion of first-line chemotherapy that, at 120 days after transplant, erosive lesions of the palatal mucosa at the left hemipalate in the area adjacent to tooth 2.7 were detected, of approximately 2 mm in size. These gave rise to an orosinus communication. Various therapeutic possibilities are examined. These cases are not frequent. Diseases and their related complications require an in-depth knowledge, on the part of the stomatologist, to recognize the early signs of involvement of the oral cavity and, on the part of the oral surgeon, to decide the most appropriate therapeutic strategy.

Saldino-Mainzer syndrome: nephronophthisis, retinitis pigmentosa, and cone-shaped epiphyses.

Saldino-Mainzer syndrome is part of a group disorders, the conorenal syndromes, that are characterized by cone-shaped epiphyses with chronic renal disease in childhood and are variously associated with retinitis pigmentosa, cerebral ataxia, and/or abnormalities of the proximal epiphyses and femur metaphyses. Saldino-Mainzer syndrome usually has sporadic presentation. The present report shows the unusual findings of a 23-year-old woman, affected by the Saldino-Mainzer syndrome and has undergone kidney transplantation, highlights the possible association with maxillofacial and cephalometric abnormalities.

Rapid expansion of the palate with a new surgical technique.

After briefly reviewing the literature concerning palatal expansion, a new technique combining surgical and medical orthodontic treatment is described. The technique, which entails detaching the nasal septum, is particularly appropriate in oral-breathing patients. Sixty-one patients (aged 10-32 years) were included in the study. The technique, which has low morbidity, gave good short- and long-term results.

Diagnosis and treatment of familial cherubism characterized by early onset and rapid development.

Cherubism is a benign maxillary bone dysplasia of childhood, usually showing an autosomically dominant inheritance with variable penetrance and spontaneously resolving after puberty. Only maxillary bones are affected and develop pseudocystic osteolytic lesions. This article presents an early and rapidly evolving familial case of cherubism. The 3-year-old child underwent conservative curettage of lesions, with a conservative approach that allowed a normal permanent dentition in adolescence. Family history revealed that the father had been treated for similar lesions between 14 and 21 years of age, but the late treatment caused edentulism. In conclusion, although cherubism represents a benign and localized maxillary dysplasia, it requires prompt surgical but conservative treatment and careful follow-up to avoid permanent lesions, that is, malocclusion and/or edentulism.