Ian M. Zlotolow

Dental extractions in the irradiated head and neck patient: a retrospective analysis of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center protocols, criteria, and end results.

Abstract Background This study was designed to use our institutional experience with irradiated head and neck patients to evaluate 1) dental extraction incidence and sequelae; 2) those patients who developed osteoradionecrosis via extraction and the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy; and 3) guidelines for extraction protocols in this population. Materials and methods A group of 1,194 patients with a history of radiation to the head and neck, who were evaluated and treated in the Dental Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, were reviewed. The 187 who required dental extractions were analyzed using patient demographics, tumor location, staging, histopathology, radiation dosage, field, and timing, dental extraction indications, location, surgical methods, and sequelae. Results Almost 85% of the patients reviewed did not require extraction. Only 4 of those who underwent extractions at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center developed osteoradionecrosis. Conclusions The use of multidisciplinary team communications and careful extraction selection by prognosis and symptomatology regardless of preexisting dental pathologies, atraumatic extraction procedures, and meticulous follow-up can lower both extraction and osteoradionecrosis rates.

Osseointegrated implants and functional prosthetic rehabilitation in microvascular fibula free flap reconstructed mandibles

The mandibulectomy deformity can be alleviated by immediate mandibular reconstruction using the microvascular fibula free flap. Before the advent of microvascular reconstruction, conventional and maxillofacial prosthetic rehabilitation offered limited success after surgery due to the failure to reestablish the bony foundation and soft tissues (tongue, floor of mouth, vestibule) anatomically and physiologically. With proper multidisciplinary pretreatment planning and postoperative treatment, osseointegrated implants can be strategically placed in patients with these reconstructed mandibles to restore occlusal and masticatory function. The records of seven patients who underwent reconstructive surgery and osseointegrated implants were reviewed, with an emphasis on the variety of prosthetic designs and principles used to maximize long-term efficiency and preservation of tissues.

Resection and immediate microvascular reconstruction in the management of osteoradionecrosis of the mandible

Management of osteoradionecrosis (ORN) remains a difficult and challenging problem. The traditional approach using debridement, antibiotics, and occasionally hyperbaric oxygen is usually successful in treating minimal ORN. However, when bone and soft‐tissue necrosis is extensive, the conservative approach usually requires intensive care over a long period of time and often yields unsatisfactory functional and cosmetic results.

Effects of therapy on dentofacial development in long-term survivors of head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma: The memorial sloan-kettering cancer center experience

Purpose To describe potential effects of multimodality therapy on dental and facial development in long-term survivors of head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma. Patients and Methods The medical records of all patients aged 20 years or less presenting between 1985 and 1996 with a diagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma and treated by protocol were reviewed. Head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma patients who were followed in the Dental Service and were alive and free of disease with at least a 5-year follow-up were included in the review. Ten patients satisfied the inclusion criteria and form the basis of this report. The median age at diagnosis of the 10 patients was 4.3 years (range 10 months to 19.5 years). All patients were treated with chemotherapy, two patients underwent surgery, and all but one patient received external beam radiation therapy. Results Clinical or radiographic dentofacial abnormalities were observed in 8 of the 10 (80%) patients. Abnormalities included enamel defects, bony hypoplasia/facial asymmetry, trismus, velopharyngeal incompetency, tooth/root agenesis, and disturbance in root development. Bony hypoplasia and disturbance in root formation were the most common findings. Conclusions Multimodality therapy for head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma can result in dentofacial abnormalities that affect the patients quality of life. The care of the long-term survivor requires a multidisciplinary approach, including early involvement of the dental team.

Efficacy of speech aid prostheses for acquired defects of the soft palate and velopharyngeal inadequacy—clinical assessments and cephalometric analysis: A Memorial Sloan-Kettering Study

Restoration of speech after surgical resection for oropharyngeal cancer traditionally includes maxillofacial prosthetic intervention. Relatively few publications with objective speech outcomes exist. The purpose of this study was to evaluate speech outcome relative to the size of the surgical defect, the type of speech prosthesis, and the height and position of the speech bulb in relation to the posterior pharyngeal wall in the nasopharynx.

Osseointegrated implants in microvascular fibula free flap reconstructed mandibles

In the past, prosthodontic rehabilitation of patients who underwent segmental mandibular resection relied on removable prostheses, which were less than ideal. The advent of the microvascular free flap has provided improved appearance and function through reconstruction of the skeletal integrity of the mandible. In select patients osseointegrated implants strategically placed in the reconstructed mandible can be used to restore masticatory function. Patient selection criteria and techniques are discussed.

Hard palate resection, microvascular reconstruction, and prosthetic restoration: A 14-year retrospective analysis

This retrospective analysis was conducted to evaluate self‐reported patient and clinician assessed functional outcomes of patients who have undergone ablative hard palate oncologic resection and microvascular free‐flap reconstruction with and without maxillofacial prosthetic intervention.

Controlled mold geometry for surgical deficit treatment planning.

The relatively precise placement of brachytherapy sources afforded by stereotactic frames for brain implants is not generally achievable for other sites, which lack the fixed geometry of the cranium and its contents. An exception is a source-containing rigid mold that delivers brachytherapy when inserted securely in a surgical defect. A technique has been developed in which an acrylic mold of the region to be treated is suspended in a demountable aluminum box, which is then filled to a suitable level with dental stone to form a casting that supports the mold and that can be removed intact. First, the box is aligned on a mill table and a ball mill is used to drill three parallel holes in the acrylic mold, with precisely known locations and depths and as widely separated as possible. The spherical air cavities that result from plugging these holes with ball-milled acrylic rods become reference markers in subsequent computed tomography (CT) scans. After optimum CT-coordinate locations have been planned for 125I seeds in catheters, they are transformed to mill coordinates using a matrix developed from the known marker coordinates in the two systems. Catheter holes are then drilled with the mold in the reassembled casting and box. The method has been used to treat both recurrent maxillary cancer and recurrent orbital rhabdomyosarcoma.