Significant decrease of facial cellulitis admissions during COVID-19 lockdown in France: A multicentric comparative study.

During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, a lockdown was imposed in France during the first wave. An apparent decrease in incidence of cellulitis of odontogenic origin was noticed then. This study aimed to compare the incidence of cellulitis during this extraordinary period with the same period in 2018 and 2019, based on retrospective multicentric data. All maxillofacial surgery departments in French public hospitals were contacted. Responders were asked to include all patients admitted for the surgical drainage of a head and neck abscess of odontogenic origin during the first 2020 lockdown period, and in a similar time frame in 2018 and 2019 (control group), based on screening the French diagnostic and therapeutic classification of medical acts. We report a 44% significant nationwide decrease in the incidence of admissions for cellulitis. There were 187 patients in 2020 for 334 and 333 patients in 2018/2019 respectively. The reasons to explain this finding are hypothetical (organizational reasons leading to earlier management, patients' fear to seek for medical management, usual excess in surgical indications or concomitant decrease of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs delivery). Whatever the explanation, it would be of great interest to find it out in order to improve the prevention of cellulitis.

Anatomical and functional rehabilitation after total bilateral maxillectomy using a custom-made bone-anchored titanium prosthesis.

Surgical reconstruction after a total maxillectomy remains challenging. The standard treatment is the microvascular free flap. In cases of surgical contraindication, oral rehabilitation is usually performed with a palatal obturator prosthesis (PAP). Acceptable anatomical and functional outcomes in terms of speech, mastication, aesthetic appearance, stability, and comfort are not often achieved with a PAP. This technical note describes a technique for reconstruction after total bilateral maxillectomy involving the implantation of a custom-made bone-anchored titanium prosthesis obtained by 3D printing. Good functional and anatomical outcomes were achieved with this technique. It combines the advantages of the obturator prosthesis (short duration of surgery and hospitalization, low morbidity) and free flap (aesthetic/anatomical reconstruction and irremovable comfortable functional rehabilitation). This technique constitutes a new therapeutic alternative for the restoration of large defects after total maxillectomy when free flaps are contraindicated.

Rapid maxillary expansion in adults: Can multislice computed tomography help choose between orthopedic or surgical treatment?

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of Multislice Computed Tomography (MSCT) in the detection resistance areas on the midpalatal suture (MPS) and thus to evaluate if MSCT could be a help in the kind of maxillary expansion to be used (pure orthodontic or surgically-aided) for the correction of transverse maxillary deficiencies in adults. METHODS: Ten MSCT were obtained from 10 MPS removed from fresh corpses (mean age: 79.4; extreme: 70-86). Three standardized radiological regions of interest (ROI) were identified on each MPS and were classified into "open" (group 1) or "closed" (group 2) by 3 independent radiologists. The 30 ROI were then histologically analyzed according to 3 criteria: mean suture width (MSW), obliteration index (OI) and interdigitation index (Ii). RESULTS: Nine ROI were classified in group 1 (closed) and 21 in group 2 (open). On the histological examination, the mean MSW was 396.9µm in group 1 and 227.1µm in group 2. OI was 3.098% and 9.309% and Ii was 1.25 and 1.34 respectively. Statistically significant difference between the 2 groups was only found for the MSW. We conclude that MSCT allows for the evaluation of the width of the MPS, but not for the evaluation of the other possible parameters of resistance we used. Therefore, it cannot predict precisely the amount of résistance in the MPS and is not suited for the choice between pure orthodontic or surgically-aided expansion.