Tratamento cirúrgico para osteonecrose dos maxilares induzida por bisfosfonatos: relatos de casos / Surgical treatment for bisphosphonate-induced maxillary osteonecrosis: case reports

Introdução: os bisfosfonatos são um grupo de medicamentos utilizados no tratamento de doenças osteolíticas, tais como mieloma múltiplo, osteoporose e doença de Paget. Uma complicação tardia dessa medicação é a osteonecrose em ossos maxilares. Esta é definida como desenvolvimento de osso necrótico na cavidade bucal de paciente em tratamento atual ou prévio com bisfosfonato, após sofrer algum procedimento cirúrgico bucal invasivo, sem ter realizado radioterapia. Objetivo: descrever, por meio de relatos de casos, a opção de técnica cirúrgica para tratamento da osteonecrose por bisfosfonatos. Materiais e método: em todos os casos relatados, a terapêutica cirúrgica contou com osteotomia e remoção cirúrgica do sequestro ósseo, debridamento, irrigação com soro fisiológico e sutura contínua simples. Resultados: o controle clínico pós-operatório evidenciou boa cicatrização, melhora considerável da lesão e reepitelização significativa, em curto e longo período. Conclusão: os pacientes devem passar por um criterioso exame odontológico, antes do uso desses medicamentos. Nenhum tratamento cirúrgico invasivo deve ser realizado durante a terapia com esses fármacos. (AU)

Introduction: Bisphosphonates are a group of medications used to treat osteolytic diseases such as multiple myeloma, osteoporosis, and Paget's disease. A late complication of this medication is osteonecrosis in the maxillary bones. It is defined as the development of necrotic bone in the oral cavity of a patient under current or with previous treatment with bisphosphonate and subjected to some invasive oral surgical procedure without radiotherapy. Objective: This study aimed to describe, through case reports, the option of a surgical technique for the treatment of osteonecrosis with bisphosphonates. Materials and Method: In all cases reported, surgical therapy included osteotomy and surgical removal of bone sequestration, debridement, irrigation with saline solution, and simple continuous suture. Results: The postoperative clinical control revealed satisfactory healing, considerable lesion improvement, and significant short- and long-term re-epithelialization. Conclusion: Patients should be subjected to a careful dental examination before using these medications. No invasive surgical treatment should be performed during therapy with these drugs. (AU)

Quantitative ultrasound at the hand phalanges in patients with bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws

Patients with bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (BRONJ) who received intravenous or oral bisphosphonates (BP) were selected for determination of their bone microarchitecture as a risk predictor of BRONJ development. The diagnosis of BRONJ was made based on clinical and radiographic findings. The control group consisted of healthy patients. All patients underwent quantitative and qualitative ultrasound measurements of bone at the hand phalanges carried out using the DBM Sonic BP. Ultrasound bone profile index (UBPI), amplitude-dependent speed of sound (AD-SoS), bone biophysics profile (BBP), and bone transmission time (BTT) were measured. The BRONJ group consisted of 17 patients (62 ± 4.24; range: 45-82); 10 (58.8%) were male and seven (41.1%) were female, of whom 11 (64.7%) suffered from multiple myeloma, three (17.6%) from osteoporosis, one (5.8%) from prostate cancer, one (5.8%) from kidney cancer, and one (5.8%) from leukemia. Fourteen (82.3%) of them received intravenous BP whereas three (17.6%) received oral BP. Nine (9/17; 52.9%) patients developed bone exposure: two in the maxilla and seven in the mandible. Regarding quantitative parameters, Ad-SoS was low in the BRONJ group, but not significant. The UBPI score was significantly reduced in BRONJ patients with exposed bone when compared to controls (0.47 ± 0.12 vs. 0.70 ± 0.15; p = 0.004). The present study demonstrated that quantitative ultrasound was able to show bone microarchitecture alterations in BRONJ patients, and suggests that these analyses may be an important tool for early detection of bone degeneration associated with BRONJ.