Donor site morbidities of concha cartilage harvesting using a retroauricular approach for cleft rhinoplasty: retrospective study

Objectives@#Concha cartilage is recommended for correction of cleft nasal deformities. Morbidities at the donor site have been reported in esthetic rhinoplasty cases. Reports on cleft patients are limited, so we investigated the complications of concha cartilage harvesting using the retroauricular approach in cleft rhinoplasty and their management. @*Materials and Methods@#This was a retrospective review of the charts of 63 patients with cleft deformities who underwent septorhinoplasty with concha cartilage. All cases were harvested using a retroauricular approach. Data on patient demographics, surgery type, amount of cartilage harvested, and complications were gathered. @*Results@#Sixty-three patients were enrolled (21 males and 42 females). The mean age of patients was 20.2±5.9 years. Complications were observed in 6 cases (9.5%) and included delayed wound healing (4.8%), prolonged postoperative pain (1.6%), postoperative paresthesia (1.6%), and prominauris (1.6%). @*Conclusion@#The rate of complications associated with concha cartilage harvesting using a retroauricular approach is low. The use of meticulous surgical techniques, especially hemostasis control and adequate wound dressing, is key to minimizing postoperative complications.

Accessory infraorbital foramen location using cone-beam computed tomography

Background@#Accessory infraorbital foramen (AIOF) can change the normal course of emerging branches of the infraorbital nerve and blood vessels exiting the infraorbital foramen (IOF). This study aimed to examine the AIOF, number of foramina, and their position in relation to IOF using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). @*Methods@#We performed a retrospective CBCT assessment of hospital records between January 2018 and August 2022. The CBCT of 507 patients were examined to extract information on the prevalence, number, position, linear distance from the IOF, and diameter of AIOF in relation to demographic factors. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the prevalence of AIOF. Mean and standard deviation were used to calculate the linear distance and diameter of the AIOF, respectively. The AIOFs, its distribution, and number were compared between sexes and sides using the chi-square test. The independent t-test and Mann–Mann-Whitney test were used to compare the mean difference between the sexes and sides. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. @*Results@#In this current study, the prevalence of AIOF was 7.1% (36 of the 507 patients). Additionally, the current study examined the number of foramina using a single foramen on each side and double foramina located bilaterally at a distance from the AIOF to the IOF. The mean AIOF diameter was also studied, and the AIOF position with respect to the IOF on CBCT was superomedial or inferomedial. There were no statistically significant associations between any of the parameters assessed in this study when comparing sex and sides. @*Conclusions@#A greater number of patients with AIOF presented with a single foramen and unilateral occurrence, without a statistically significant difference. The AIOF was most commonly located superomedial to the IOF.

Buccal infiltration injection without a 4% articaine palatal injection for maxillary impacted third molar surgery

Objectives@#Palatal infiltration is the most painful and uncomfortable anesthesia technique for maxillary impacted third molar surgery (MITMS). This approach could cause patients distress and aversion to dental treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anesthetic efficacy of a buccal infiltration injection without a palatal injection in MITMS. @*Materials and Methods@#This prospective research study was a crossover split mouth-randomized controlled trial. Twenty-eight healthy symmetrical bilateral MITMS patients (mean age, 23 years) were randomly assigned to two groups. Buccal infiltration injections without palatal injections were designated as the study group and the buccal with palatal infiltration cases were the control group, using 4% articaine and 1:100,000 epinephrine. The operation started after 10 minutes of infiltration. Pain assessment was done using a visual analogue scale and a numeric rating scale after each injection and extraction procedure. Similarly, the success rate, hemodynamic parameters, and additional requested local anesthetic were assessed. @*Results@#The results showed that the pain associated with local anesthetic injections between both groups were significantly different. However, the success rates between the groups were not significantly different. Postoperative pain was not significant between both groups and a few patients requested an additional local anesthetic, but the results were not statistically significant. For hemodynamic parameters, there was a significant difference in systolic pressure during incision, bone removal, and tooth elevation. In comparison, during the incision stage there was a significant difference in diastolic pressure; however, other steps in the intervention were not significantly different between groups. @*Conclusion@#We concluded that buccal infiltration injection without palatal injection can be an alternative technique instead of the conventional injection for MITMS.

Generation of novel hyaluronic acid biomaterials for study of pain in third molar intervention: a review

Hyaluronic acid (HA) has long been studied in diverse applications. It is a naturally occurring linear polysaccharide in a family of unbranched glycosaminoglycans, which consists of repeating di-saccharide units of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and D-glucuronic acid. It is almost ubiquitous in humans and other vertebrates, where it participates in many key processes, including cell signaling, tissue regeneration, wound healing, morphogenesis, matrix organization, and pathobiology. HA is biocompatible, biodegradable, muco-adhesive, hygroscopic, and viscoelastic. These unique physico-chemical properties have been exploited for several medicinal purposes, including recent uses in the adjuvant treatment for chronic inflammatory disease and to reduce pain and accelerate healing after third molar intervention. This review focuses on the post-operative effect of HA after third molar intervention along with its various physio-chemical, biochemical, and pharmaco-therapeutic uses.

Inferior alveolar nerve block by intraosseous injection with Quicksleeper® at the retromolar area in mandibular third molar surgery

BACKGROUND: There are many techniques of inferior alveolar nerve block injection (IANBI); one among them is the computer-assisted intraosseous injection (CAIOI). Here we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of CAIOI with Quicksleeper® in mandibular third molar surgery. METHODS: This study is a clinical, single-blind, randomized, split-mouth, controlled trial including 25 patients (10 males and 15 females, mean age 21 years). The patients underwent surgical removal of bilateral mandibular third molars with two different IANBI techniques. One side was injected using Quicksleeper®, and the other side was injected using a conventional IANBI. Both techniques used one cartridge (1.7 ml) of 1:100,000 epinephrine 4% articaine. A supplementary injection was used if necessary. All volumes of anesthetic agent used were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using paired t-test and Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: This research showed that CAIOI has faster onset and shorter duration of action than IANBI (P < 0.05). The pain was similar in both techniques. In the CAIOI group, one-third of the cases could be completed without additional anesthesia. The remaining two-thirds required minimal supplementary volume of anesthesia. The success rates were 68% for CAIOI and 72% for IANBI, respectively. CONCLUSION: CAIOI is an advantageous anesthetic technique. It can be used as an alternative to conventional IANBI for mandibular third molar surgery.