Quality of Life after Mandibular Reconstruction Using Free Fibula Flap and Customized Plates: A Case Series and Comparison with the Literature.

A single-center retrospective study was conducted to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in 23 consecutive patients undergoing mandibular reconstruction using the computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technology, free fibula flap, and titanium patient-specific implants (PSIs). HRQoL was evaluated after at least 12 months of surgery using the University of Washington Quality of Life (UW-QOL) questionnaire for head and neck cancer patients. In the 12 single question domains, the highest mean scores were found for "taste" (92.9), "shoulder" (90.9), "anxiety" (87.5), and "pain" (86.4), whereas the lowest scores were observed for "chewing" (57.1), "appearance" (67.9), and "saliva" (78.1). In the three global questions of the UW-QOL questionnaire, 80% of patients considered that their HRQoL was as good as or even better than it was compared to their HRQoL before cancer, and only 20% reported that their HRQoL had worsened after the presence of the disease. Overall QoL during the past 7 days was rated as good, very good or outstanding by 81% of patients, respectively. No patient reported poor or very poor QoL. In the present study, restoring mandibular continuity with free fibula flap and patient-specific titanium implants designed with the CAD-CAM technology improved HRQoL.

Personalized Surgery Service in a Tertiary Hospital: A Method to Increase Effectiveness, Precision, Safety and Quality in Maxillofacial Surgery Using Custom-Made 3D Prostheses and Implants.

Personalized surgery (PS) involves virtual planning (VP) and the use of 3D printing technology to design and manufacture custom-made elements to be used during surgery. The widespread use of PS has fostered a paradigm shift in the surgical process. A recent analysis performed in our hospital-along with several studies published in the literature-showed that the extensive use of PS does not preclude the lack of standardization in the process. This means that despite the widely accepted use of this technology, standard individual roles and responsibilities have not been properly defined, and this could hinder the logistics and cost savings in the PS process. The aim of our study was to describe the method followed and the outcomes obtained for the creation of a PS service for the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Unit that resolves the current absence of internal structure, allows for the integration of all professionals involved and improves the efficiency and quality of the PS process. We performed a literature search on the implementation of PS techniques in tertiary hospitals and observed a lack of studies on the creation of PS units or services in such hospitals. Therefore, we believe that our work is innovative and has the potential to contribute to the implementation of PS units in other hospitals.