Systematic review and meta-analysis of surgical approaches for improving airway stability in infants with Robin sequence: Evaluating complications and outcomes.

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the most effective and least morbid surgical technique for relieving retroglossal airway obstruction in infants with Robin sequence (RS). The study adhered to PRISMA guidelines and included 25 studies (24 cohorts and one case series) that investigated interventions for airway improvement, including conservative measures, tongue-lip adhesion (TLA), mandibular distraction osteogenesis (MDO), and tracheostomy. The primary outcome variable was complication rate, while predictor variable was the use of interventions for airway improvement. Results showed that conservative measures were the preferred initial management strategy in most studies, while TLA was recommended for infants with mild obstruction, and MDO or tracheostomy was reserved for severe cases. Only complications could be analysed via meta-analysis due to data heterogeneity, revealing that tracheostomy had a summary odds ratio of 5.39 in favour of TLA, while MDO had a ratio of 2.8 over TLA, and the complication rates were similar between MDO and tracheostomy. If conservative measures fail, the study recommends mandibular distraction as the preferable technique for stable airway improvement. If the infant is unsuitable for distraction, tongue-lip adhesion may serve as an alternative, while tracheostomy should be reserved for cases of severe multi-level obstruction. The authors propose that large-scale, multicentre trials comparing long-term outcomes are required to establish definitive guidelines.

Evaluation of possible role of fluoride in pathogenesis of oral submucous fibrosis: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a potentially malignant disorder. Although areca nut chewing is an established risk factor, its low prevalence among nut chewers indicates additional factors likely facilitates pathogenesis. We recently demonstrated high fluoride levels in smokeless tobacco products and hypothesized a potential pathological role of fluoride in OSMF. Further exploring this novel role, this study compared fluoride levels in tissue, serum, and saliva samples from OSMF patients and healthy controls. METHODS: The ethically approved study included 25 clinically confirmed OSMF patients and 25 healthy matched controls. OSMF cases underwent buccal mucosal incisional biopsy, while controls had buccal mucosa tissue sampling during third molar removal. Fasting venous blood and unstimulated saliva were collected. Fluoride levels were analysed using ion chromatography and expressed as median (IQR). RESULTS: OSMF cases showed significantly higher fluoride concentrations compared with controls in tissue biopsies (30.1 vs. 0 mg/kg, p < 0.0001), serum (0.4 vs. 0 mg/L, p = 0.005) and saliva (1.3 vs. 0 mg/L, p < 0.0001). Majority (68%) of controls had undetectable fluoride levels across all samples. Tissue fluoride weakly correlated with OSMF severity (r = -0.158, p = 0.334). CONCLUSION: The preliminary findings demonstrated increased tissue fluoride levels in OSMF patients compared with healthy controls. Along with a previous study showing high fluoride content in smokeless tobacco products, these findings provided early evidence suggesting fluoride could play a contributory role in OSMF pathogenesis. Further large-scale investigation is warranted to definitively establish whether the association between fluoride exposure and OSMF is indicative of causation.

Evaluation of fluoride levels in areca nut, tobacco, and commercial smokeless tobacco products: a pilot study.

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a premalignant condition associated with chewing areca nut and tobacco products. We observed increased fluoride levels in some OSMF-endemic regions,and the observation suggested that fluoride exposure may contribute to its pathogenesis. This study aimed to assess the fluoride content of various smokeless tobacco items as a potential influencing source. Fluoride concentration was analysed in commercial areca nut products, including gutkha, pan masala, and raw areca nut, along with tobacco, slaked lime, and catechu samples from Karnataka, India. Fluoride was measured using alkali fusion and the ion selective electrode method. All products showed high fluoride, with catechu having the highest mean concentration at 51.20 mg/kg, followed by tobacco, gutkha, pan masala, processed areca nut, and raw areca nut. Fluoride was also elevated in soil, but not in water. The findings demonstrate substantial fluoride levels in popular types of smokeless tobacco, and highlight an overlooked source of exposure among consumers of gutkha, pan masala and similar oral tobacco-products. The fluoride content warrants an investigation of potential links with the occurrence and severity of OSMF.

Remote Access Thyroid Surgery: A Review of Literature.

Since the first description of endoscopic thyroid lobectomy in 1997, a variety of techniques have been developed to avoid the visible cervical scar conventionally been associated with thyroidectomy. These "remote access" approaches, which typically use either endoscopic or robotic instrumentation, have successfully avoided the anterior neck scar, which has a measurable impact on the patient's quality of life (Graves and Suh Surgery 168(5):845-850, 2020; Sakorafas World J Surg 34(8):1793-1804, 2010). The main advantage of these techniques is better cosmesis compared to conventional transcervical approaches (Graves and Suh Surgery 168(5):845-850, 2020) However, these techniques have failed to gain widespread acceptance in the surgical community because of the technical challenges, scepticism about oncological safety and cost factors. This review presents an overview of the various methods of remote access thyroid surgery (RATS) and also evaluates the selection criteria, oncological efficacy, training requirements and key advantages of this technique.

Surgical tumour margins and their significance in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

There are many prognostic indicators used to predict tumour recurrence and overall prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Most of these biological factors cannot be directly influenced by clinicians managing these heterogeneous group of tumours. Excision margins can potentially be increased at the time of surgery by including more normal tissue than the commonly accepted 1 cm resection distance from the macroscopic tumour edge. However, this can lead to poorer quality of life for patients and does not necessarily address microscopic extensions or dicohesive patterns of tumour growth. Surgical margins can be affected by tissue shrinkage immediately following resection and the choice of instrument used for surgery. Currently, most regard a clear resection margin as being >5 mm, a close margin as more than 1 mm but <5 mm and an involved margin <1 mm. In this article, we provide a brief overview of tumour margins in OSCC, including several recently published large meta-analyses. Based upon these and other studies, there is still conflicting data in the literature about the ideal margin for OSCC. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests a clearance of 1 mm might be adequate for some cancers. However, adequacy of resection should be considered along with the many other prognostic indicators of OSCC when the multi-disciplinary team considers further treatment for these patients.

Role of Adjuvant Radiotherapy in Early Stage Tongue Cancer: Need for Establishing Stringent Guidelines.

The primary objective of this study was to determine, using population-based data, whether the addition of postoperative radiotherapy (RT) provides an overall survival benefit in patients with early primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of tongue. The study included the data of tongue cancer patients treated between January 2016 and July 2019 retrieved from our hospital database. Tumours limited to pathologic T1 and T2 category managed with primary surgery with or without postoperative external beam RT were included. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were the main outcomes of interest. A total of 211 cases of oral cancer were evaluated and all the patients had clear surgical and pathological margins. Postoperative adjuvant therapy (PORT) was received by 16 patients. Comparison of DFS and OS at 2-year follow-up depicted a similar outcome (p = 0.582 and p = 0.312 respectively). Findings from our study suggest that in the absence of any absolute advantage on quantifiable survival and disease control, it is necessary to define stringent criteria when advocating PORT in early tongue cancer.

COVID-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM) in India: a formidable challenge.

Together with the ongoing serious COVID-19 second wave in India, a serious fungal infection, mucormycosis has been increasingly found in COVID-19-recovered patients. Colloquially known as 'black fungus', mucormycosis commonly causes necrosis in the head and neck including the nose, paranasal sinuses, orbits, and facial bones, with possible intracranial spread. The disease causes high morbidity and mortality given that it progresses rapidly and diagnosis is often delayed. Given the sheer magnitude of the outbreak, the Indian Health Ministry has advised all states to declare mucormycosis an epidemic. Typically, the disease has been found to be linked to COVID-19 infections caused by the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant, which has spread rapidly throughout the country. This variant has already become a cause for global concern, having spread to at least 40 countries, including the USA and UK. We present the findings of a study conducted on COVID-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM) patients, and discuss the associated risk factors to raise awareness for OMFS colleagues.

A bibliometric analysis of the top 100 most-cited articles in the Journal of Oral Pathology & Medicine (1972-2020).

OBJECTIVE: The steady and continued increase of the Journal of Oral Pathology & Medicine's (JOPM) popularity prompted a bibliometric analysis of the journal. The purpose was to assess the significance and effect of the published research articles in the Journal from 1972 and 2020, aiding the identification of landmark articles. We performed a bibliometric analysis using the top 100 cited papers in the Journal of Oral Pathology & Medicine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An extensive review of the Web of Science was undertaken. Standard information such as author details, affiliated institutions, publication year and the country of origin was recorded. RESULTS: The top 100 cited articles in JOPM were assessed. The maximum and minimum number of citations in the top 100 articles was 1459 and 95, respectively. A total of 16 790 citations were recorded for these 100 articles. Authors were affiliated to 28 different countries, 17 research articles from the UK and 12 from the USA. Other countries furnished seven or fewer articles. CONCLUSION: This bibliometric analysis provides a synopsis of research published in the journal over a 48-year period. Recent interest in the journal shows a healthy increase in submissions and profile.

Selective embolization of lingual artery in transoral robotic surgery for the management of recurrent base of tongue carcinomas.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of oropharyngeal carcinoma has been on the rise in recent decades. About 30% of patients who undergo definitive chemoradiation as the initial treatment present with residual/recurrent disease. In such a situation, surgical salvage either in the form of traditional open surgery or transoral robotic surgery (TORS) remains a viable treatment option. However, the extensive vascular supply of the posterior tongue and tonsillar bed increases the risk of perioperative bleeding, which is a key concern. The article describes the technique of selective pre-operative embolization to reduce the risk of perioperative bleeding and enumerate its advantages in providing a bloodless field during surgery. METHODS: Prospective study of 5 patients with recurrent or residual midline BOT tumours who underwent TORS after selective lingual artery embolization at our centre. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: None of the patients had any major perioperative bleeding or post procedural complications. All the patients after TORS had their tongue vascularity preserved with adequate recovery of tongue functions. Selective embolization of the feeder vessels provides a favorable bloodless surgical field without affecting the vascular integrity of the remnant tongue. This added advantage helps restoring the normal oral phase of swallowing.