Giorgio Iaconetta

Repair of orbital floor fractures: our experience and new technical findings

We report our experience with the repair of the orbital floor fractures and present new technical findings. We evaluated 30 subjects with pure blowout fractures treated at the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery of the Federico II University of Naples, Italy, between 2005 and 2007. A preoperative examination by computed tomography scans provided classification of the orbital floor fractures into small and large fractures by measurement of the bone defect to choose the appropriate reconstructive implant materials, resorbable or nonresorbable. The clinical follow-up has been performed at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. We observed a resolution of preoperative symptoms. The scar was not evident, and there was an absence of postoperative complications. We concluded that the use of resorbable materials for small orbital floor fractures and nonresorbable materials for large orbital floor fractures offers satisfactory results in both functional and aesthetic considerations. Furthermore, the new technical findings allow standardization of the surgical technique to be more accurate, also reducing the economic costs.

Cranial, craniofacial and skull base surgery

Cranial Neurosurgery.- Instruments.- Subfrontal Approaches.- Supraorbital Eyebrow Approach.- Frontotemporal Approach.- Orbitozygomatic Approach.- Transcallosal Approaches to Intraventricular Tumors.- Subtemporal Approach.- Suboccipital Lateral Approaches (Presigmoid).- Suboccipital Lateral Approaches (Retrosigmoid).- Suboccipital Median Approach.- Middle Cranial Fossa Approach.- Translabyrinthine and Transcochlear Petrosal Approaches.- Dorsolateral Approach to the Craniocervical Junction.- Transsphenoidal Approaches: Endoscopic.- Endonasal Endoscope-Assisted Microscopic Approach.- Transsphenoidal Approaches: Microscopic.- Expanded Endoscopic Endonasal Approaches to the Skull Base.- Maxillofacial Surgery.- Orbital Approaches.- Transoral Approaches.- Midfacial Approaches.- Midfacial Translocation Approach.- Transmandibular Approaches.- Anterior Cranial Base Reconstruction.

Head and neck myxofibrosarcoma: a case report and review of the literature.

IntroductionMyxofibrosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma that occurs in late adult life, peaking in the seventh decade, and it is mainly encountered in the lower extremities. Myxofibrosarcoma of the head and neck are extremely rare. To the best of our knowledge, only 19 cases have been described in the head and neck so far. This is a literature review and retrospective chart review of our experience in head and neck myxofibrosarcoma treatment in our department.Case presentationIn this case report we describe a 35-year-old Caucasian man who presented the first case of myxofibrosarcoma arising from the pterygopalatine fossa. The peculiar anatomical location and the extent in the midcheek region make this case a hard “challenge” for the surgeon, in order to guarantee wide surgical margins of resection. A total right maxillectomy was accomplished by means of the Weber-Ferguson approach, preserving the orbital floor. The excised portion was reconstructed using the free rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap. Postoperative radiotherapy was given to the area adjacent to the lesion, with a total dose of 60Gy. No relapse occurred in the 27-month postoperative follow-up.ConclusionsThe case described suggests the importance of combined surgical and adjuvant radiotherapy to avoid local and distant recurrences of the tumor. In our opinion, combined surgical and adjuvant radiotherapy followed by close clinical observation to search for a metastatic disease is advisable in all cases. Further studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of combined radio-chemotherapy for head and neck myxofibrosarcoma in terms of long-term disease-free survival.

Midcheek mass: 10 year of clinical experience

This is a literature review and retrospective chart review of ten years experience on the treatment of midcheek masses in our department. The purpose of this study is to provide the reader with an overview of the pathology of this complex anatomic area focusing the attention on the differential diagnosis and the recent surgical strategies. From May 2002 to December 2012 we enrolled 22 consecutive patients studied for masses located in the midcheek area. Only four studies were found in the literature describing the experience of individual centres reporting few cases of midcheek masses. Combined with the previously reported 37 cases, we describe 22 lesions for a total of 59 cases. Patients were evaluated with a head and neck clinical and instrumental examination. Apart from 4 cases treated with intramuscular infiltration of botulinum toxin for masseter hypertrophy, surgical approach to the lesions was varied: 10 patients received an external approach (standard parotidectomy approach or face-lift-type approach); 6 patients had the lesion removed through an intraoral approach; in 2 cases a direct skin incision was performed. In our series we found a significant rate (55.5%) of temporary complications in all the procedures performed (external, intraoral, direct skin approach). This study aims to emphasize the role of endoscope assisted surgery as a possible alternative to the traditional approaches for the management of well selected benign midcheek masses. It would be advisable to increase the study of the endoscopic anatomy of the midcheek area in order to standardize the procedure and better define the surgical indications.

Rare fibrolipoma of the tongue: a case report

IntroductionLipoma is a benign tumor infrequent in the oral cavity, particularly in the tongue: indeed, lipomas only represent approximately 0.3% of all tongue neoplasia. Compared to conventional lipoma, fibrolipoma of the tongue is a very rare lesion that accounts for around 25–40% of tongue lipomas, and until now, to the best of our knowledge, only 14 cases have been described in which histological diagnosis of fibrolipoma was specifically confirmed. We report the case of a patient with a voluminous fibrolipoma of the tongue, treated by means of surgical excision. Fibrolipoma excision, like that described in this report, sometimes may be laborious, because fibrous bands appear to be focally infiltrating adjacent tissues, giving rise to some doubts about the nature of the lesion.Case presentationWe report the case of a voluminous fibrolipoma of the tongue in a 71-year-old Caucasian woman.ConclusionsBecause of its histological characteristics, abundance of connective and secondary changes/atrophy, fibrolipoma may appear as infiltrating adjacent tissues and may cause doubts of differential diagnosis with malignant infiltrating lesions. Surgical excision is the elective treatment. However, an accurate differential diagnosis, postsurgical histological examination and careful follow-up are required.

Reconstructive Techniques of the Parotid Region

PurposeThe aim of our study was to evaluate and check (analyze and compare the results) the complications of patients with benign parotid disease reconstructed with the 3 reconstructive techniques used after the removal of benign tumors of the parotid gland treated at our institution. The reconstruction of this anatomical region may include the use of superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS) flap, flap of sternocleidomastoid muscle, and temporoparietal fascia flap to prevent aesthetic and functional complications. Patients and MethodsWe carried out a retrospective review of 224 patients operated on between February 2002 and March 2009 with benign primary parotid tumors. Extracapsular dissection or superficial parotidectomy was performed and then these patients were reconstructed with the 3 techniques that we used to apply at the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery in the University Federico 2 of Naples: the SMAS flap, flap of sternocleidomastoid muscle, and temporoparietal fascia flap. The statistical difference between the extracapsular dissection versus superficial parotidectomy and the statistical difference between the 3 types of flaps as concerns evaluated recurrence rate and complications were measured with the &khgr;2 test. The chosen level of statistical significance was P less than 0.05. ResultsOut of the 224 enrolled patients, 103 were women and 121 men, with an average age of 54 years. After histopathological examination, 136 adenomas and 88 cystadenoma lymphomas were diagnosed. Enucleoresection was the surgical technique adopted in 169 cases while superficial parotidectomy was used in the remaining 55 cases. The reconstruction was performed with SMAS flap in 122 patients, with muscle flap SMC in 66 patients and temporoparietal fascia flap in 36 patients. Table 1 shows that no significant differences as concerns hematoma and wound infection were observed after extracapsular dissection and superficial parotidectomy(1.8% vs.1.8% [P > 0.05] and 1.8% vs. 5.5% [P > 0.05]). Transient facial nerve weakness, fistula, dip skin, Frey syndrome, spinal nerve injury, and facial paralysis were significantly more frequent after superficial parotidectomy than after extracapsular dissection (4.1% vs. 27.3% [P < 0.001], 1.8% vs. 10.9% [P < 0.001], 3% vs. 12.7% [P < 0.001], 0% vs. 5.5% [P < 0.001], 0% vs. 3.6% [P < 0.001], and 0% vs. 9.1% [P < 0.001], respectively). Table 3 shows that the presence of Frey syndrome is statistically significant in the first 2 comparisons, group I against group IV and group II against group V, respectively (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). And in the first comparison between group I and IV, there was a statistically significant presence of transient facial nerve weakness (P < 0.001), fistula (P < 0.001), dip skin (P < 0.05), and facial paralysis (P < 0.001). In the second comparison between group II and group V besides the presence of Frey syndrome, there is also a statistically significant presence of transient facial nerve weakness (P < 0.05), skin depression (P < 0.05), accessory spinal nerve injury (P < 0. 01), and facial paralysis (P < 0.01). In the comparison between the third and the sixth group, there is a statistically significant presence of transient facial nerve weakness (P < 0.05), fistula (P < 0.01), and facial paralysis(P < 0.05). ConclusionsExtracapsular dissection showed similar effectiveness and fewer side effects than superficial parotidectomy, and the 3 reconstruction techniques used in this trial drastically reduce the occurrence of post-parotidectomy Frey syndrome and greatly reduce functional and aesthetic complications.

Bifocal Mandibular Fractures: Which Should Be Treated First?

Abstract Fractures of the mandible have been reported to account between 40% and 62% of all facial fractures. Most surveys show that just under 50% are isolated, the same amount are doubly fractured. This study aims to clarify, according to our experience, the correct surgical sequence which should be followed in order to treat bifocal mandibular fractures. From January 2004 to January 2009, we have conducted a retrospective study on a sample of patients operated on in our department because of bifocal mandibular fractures. We include only those cases in which the jaw was fractured in 2 places, in particular patients who suffer a fracture in tooth-bearing areas (symphysis, parasymphysis, and anterior body) and also contralaterally in non–tooth-bearing areas (posterior body, angle, ramus, and condyle). The sample was divided into 2 groups based on the fracture sequence of reduction. At 1-year follow-up, the group of patients who received first the tooth-bearing fractured areas treatment, followed by treatment of non–tooth-bearing fractured area on bifocal mandibular fracture, showed less postoperative complications and reduced surgical time and costs. It is recommended from this study that reduction of the tooth-bearing fragment be prior to that of the tooth-free fragment for the bifocal mandible.

Comparative study between partial inferior turbinotomy and microdebrider-assisted inferior turbinoplasty.

Purpose:The purpose of our study was to compare the inferior turbinotomy and the microdebrider-assisted inferior turbinoplasty in patients with hypertrophy of the inferior turbinate. Material and Methods:We carried out a retrospective review of 205 patients, 96 women and 109 men, with a mean age of 48 years, operated on for hypertrophy of the inferior turbinate between May 2005 and May 2012. Forty-seven patients were excluded from our study because in these patients, nasal obstruction was caused by a specific pathologic condition (allergy, tumors or polyps, recurrent rhinosinusitis, etc). The remaining 158 patients were randomly assigned to undergo partial inferior turbinoplasty through the use of microdebrider (group A, n = 79) or partial inferior turbinotomy (group B, n = 79). Surgical outcome was evaluated according to 4 distinct parameters: nasal endoscopic findings, nasal subjective symptoms, anterior rhinomanometry, and nasal mucociliary transport time. These evaluations were made before surgery and 1 week and 3 months after surgery. The follow-up was a minimum of 24 months and a maximum of 60 months, with a mean follow-up of 42 months. Results:Turbinate edema and secretions decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in groups A and B 3 months after surgery. In group A, crusting was not observed after surgery. In group B, crusting had increased significantly (P < 0.005) 1 week after surgery and then decreased significantly at the third month after surgery. Subjective nasal symptoms including nasal obstruction, sneezing, snoring, itchy nose, hyposmia, headache, and dryness were significantly improved in both groups from the third month after surgery (P < 0.05). Rhinomanometric measurements demonstrated a significant nasal flow increase at 3 months (P < 0.05). The mean nasal mucociliary transport time slightly increased in both groups 1 week after surgery, and then restabilized to preoperative values at the third-month follow-up in both groups (difference not significant). Conclusions:Microdebrider-assisted inferior turbinoplasty and partial inferior turbinotomy are very effective surgical techniques for solving hypertrophy of the inferior turbinates and therefore related problems of nasal obstruction. Microdebrider-assisted inferior turbinoplasty compared to partial inferior turbinotomy ensures a greater preservation of the nasal mucosa to prevent nasal bleeding.

The pectoralis major myocutaneous pedicled flap: a refined surgical technique.

AbstractThe pectoralis major myocutaneous pedicled flap is a commonly used flap for reconstructive head and neck surgery, but associated with high complication rates. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a refined surgical technique that can reduce flap complications and compare the proposed technique with the conventional surgical technique. A retrospective analysis was performed on 35 consecutive patients affected by malignant tumors of the head and neck, who underwent a pectoralis major myocutaneous pedicled flap reconstruction in our institution, between 2004 and 2009. Patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 treated by the classic surgical technique, and group 2 treated by the refined surgical technique. Our main outcome measures were the success of the reconstructions and the complications. The overall complication rate in patients who underwent our revisited surgical technique was significantly lower than that in patients who underwent conventional surgical technique (P = 0.001). The results of our study reinforce the value of the pectoralis major flap in the reconstruction of head and neck defects and shows how little refinement of the surgical technique can significantly reduce the onset of complications.

Complications after orthognathic surgery: our experience on 423 cases

IntroductionOrthognathic surgery is widely used to correct dentofacial discrepancies. However, this procedure presents numerous possible complications. The aim of our study is to review intraoperative and postoperative complications related to orthognathic surgery based upon a 10-year period in the Maxillofacial Surgery Department of Federico II University of Naples.Materials and methodsMedical records of 423 patients who undergone orthognathic surgery in a 10-year period were retrospectively analyzed and complications was noted. Statistical analysis was conduced in order to understand if the type of surgical procedure influenced complications rate.ResultsOne hundred eighty-five complications in 143 (33.8%) of the 423 treated patients were reported. Complications detected were nerve injury (49 cases, 11.9%), infections (10 cases, 2.4%), complications related to fixation plates or screws (30 cases, 7.1%), bad split osteotomy (8 cases, 1.9%), secondary temporo-mandibular joint disorders (36 cases, 8.5%), dental injuries (21 cases, 5%), condilar resorption (2 cases, 0.5%), and necessity of a second-time surgery (24 cases, 5.7%).ConclusionsSerious complications seem to be quite rare in orthognathic surgery. Some of the surgical complications found are related to the surgeon experience and not strictly to the risks of the operation itself. Understanding potential complications allows the surgeon to guarantee safe care through early intervention and correctly inform the patient in the preoperative colloquy.