Outpatient third molar surgery under local anaesthesia and conscious sedation using patient-controlled analgesia with alfentanil.

We examined the feasibility of intraoperative conscious sedation employing patient-controlled analgesia with alfentanil (PCA-alfentanil) in 20 adult outpatients undergoing third molar surgery under local anaesthesia. A loading dose of intravenous alfentanil 15 mg/kg was administered immediately before local anaesthetic administration using 2% lignocaine with 1:80,000 adrenaline. This was followed by a background alfentanil infusion of 0.05 mg/kg/min. On demand alfentanil doses were 4 mg/kg with lockout intervals of 3 minutes. All patients were mildly sedated, easily aroused verbally and co-operative throughout the surgery. None experienced any cardiovascular or respiratory complications related to PCA-alfentanil. Immediate postoperative complications included nausea, vomiting and pruritus. High patient comfort and acceptance scores suggest that the use of PCA-alfentanil can be a useful adjunct to local anaesthesia in adult outpatients undergoing third molar surgery.

Odontogenic keratocyst of the maxilla presenting as periodontal abscess.

This is a case report of an odontogenic keratocyst of the maxilla initially diagnosed and treated as a periodontal abscess. The occurrence of odontogenic keratocyst in the maxilla with involvement of the antrum is relatively rare. The radiological appearance of this lesion on both conventional and panoramic radiography can be misinterpreted and emphasizes the usefulness of the computed tomography in this region.