Orbital Reconstruction by Patient-Specific Implant Printed in Porous Titanium: A Retrospective Case Series of 12 Patients.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the orbital patient-specific implant (PSI) directly printed in porous titanium for the reconstruction of complex orbital bone defects in a series of 12 patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The authors designed and implemented a case series. The sample consisted of patients with unilateral complex orbital bone loss. All patients received a porous titanium PSI designed from the healthy contralateral side (mirroring). The criteria analyzed were the functional results: correction of enophthalmos, correction of ocular motility, operative time, complications, and operative revisions. The study was performed from 2015 through 2017. RESULTS: The sample was composed of 12 patients (mean age, 47 yr; age range, 13 to 70 yr). Patients were followed for a mean of 36 weeks postoperatively (range, 4 to 100 weeks). Twelve of the 12 patients presented preoperative enophthalmia, and 8 of the 12 patients presented preoperative diplopia. The mean operating time was 71 minutes (range, 60 to 200 minutes). For 8 patients, the follow-up was simple. In contrast, 2 patients required surgical revision with repositioning of the implant because of intraoperative implant malpositioning with esthetic or functional disturbance and malpositioning was confirmed on the postoperative computed tomogram, 1 patient required explantation of his implant 7 months after the surgery because of spheno-orbital meningioma recurrence (the implant was well positioned), and 1 patient operated on by a subciliary approach presented a postoperative ectropion. In this series of porous titanium orbital PSIs without positioning guides, 17% had malpositioning (2 patients who required a new intervention for repositioning). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that porous titanium PSI could be a surgical option for patients with complex orbital bone defects. In this series 17% of the sample needed a second operation. There are several ways to improve these results, such as intraoperative navigation or integrated positioning guides.

Inferior alveolar nerve allogenic repair following mandibulectomy: A systematic review.

PURPOSE: Processed nerve allografts (PNA) are an alternative to nerve autografts to reconstruct the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) when it is damaged. The purpose of this study was to report the results of IAN reconstruction using PNA in the context of aggressive benign mandibular pathology. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A systematic literature review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement through the MEDLINE (Pubmed) and SCOPUS (Elsevier) databases. Studies concerning reconstructive surgeries of IAN by PNA, performed at the same time as the surgical resection of the benign pathologies of the mandible were included. The following data were analyzed: gender and patient age, cause of mandibular resection, graft dimensions, sensory recovery at least 6 months after surgery according to the MRC scale, and adverse events related to the intervention. RESULTS: The initial search yielded 290 studies and 5 were included in the final review. A total of 33 patients underwent 36 IAN reconstructions; 14 patients were female (42.4%) and mean age was 30 years old. The mean length of graft used was 64.0 ± 9.1 mm. The most common pathology that led to nerve resection was ameloblastoma (52%). Among the reconstructions for which follow-up data were available, functional sensory recovery occurred in 92.9% of cases. CONCLUSION: PNA are a reliable, safe, and effective alternative to nerve autografts for the rehabilitation of the IAN with 92.9% of functional recovery according to the reported literature, avoiding any comorbidity associated with the use of a donor site.

Costal Grafting in Mandibular Reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: Reconstruction of mandibular bone defect is a common indication in craniomaxillofacial surgery, and free fibular flap is the gold standard for this indication. However, there are alternatives; nonvascular bone grafting is one of them, and we present the costal grafting for mandibular reconstruction, a classic technique that is reliable, efficient, and produced less morbidity than the technique of using composite free flaps. METHOD: A 9-year retrospective review of 54 patients treated surgically for mandibular reconstruction was performed. The criterion mainly analyzed was graft survival. The surgical technique was described in detail. RESULTS: A total of 54 patients with mandibular bone defect were identified. Five symphysis, 46 corpus, and 20 ramus defects were considered. These patients underwent reconstruction by costal grafting, and the engrafting was successful in 92.6% of cases. Dental rehabilitation with dental implants was realized in 70% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: The approach described in this article allowed the authors to obtain good results with costal grafting for mandibular reconstruction and dental rehabilitation. Costal grafting is a good alternative for fibula free flap in specific indications. Reconstruction of mandibular bone defect is a common indication in craniomaxillofacial surgery. Since the 1980s, the gold standard for these defects is the use of free fibular flap.(1) In some cases, this technique is contradicted; the surgeon then has several possibilities for the use of free osteomyocutaneous flaps (iliac crest, scapula, and serrato-costal flaps).(2-8).