Disseminated necrotic mediastinitis spread from odontogenic abscess: our experience.

AIMS: Deep neck infections are rare but potentially fatal complication of pulpal abscess of the teeth. If an infection can progress rapidly from a toothache to a life threatening infection, then it is critical that dentists be able to recognize the danger signs and identify the patients who are at risk. Mediastinitis is a severe inflammatory process involving the connective tissues that fills the intracellular spaces and surrounds the organs in the middle of the chest. This pathology has both an acute and a chronic form and, in most cases, it has an infectious etiology. This study want to expose the experience acquired in the Oral and Maxillo-facial Sciences Department, Policlinico Umberto I, "Sapienza" University of Rome, regarding two clinical cases of disseminated necrotizing mediastinitis starting from an odontogenic abscess. METHODS: We report two clinical cases of disseminated necrotic mediastinitis with two different medical and surgical approaches. The radiographic and photographic documentation of the patients was collected in the pre-and post-operatively. All patients underwent a CT scan and MRI. RESULTS: Mediastinitis can result from a serious odontogenic abscess, and the extent of its inflammation process must be never underestimated. Dental surgeons play a key role as a correct diagnosis can prevent further increasing of the inflammation process. CONCLUSIONS: A late diagnosis and an inadequate draining represent the major causes of the elevated mortality rate of disseminated necrotizing mediastinitis.

Management and treatment of sinonasal inverted papilloma.

AIMS: The aim of this paper is to describe the surgical experience of 35 patients with Inverted Papilloma (IP) of paranasal sinuses and its recurrence rate after a year of follow-up. MATERIALS: A retrospective chart review was performed on patients presenting with IP of paranasal sinuses. Thirty-five patients comprised the focus of this study. For all patients was performed a pre-surgery TC, and for more 5 patients it was necessary to perform a Magnetic Resonance (MR) with gadolinium. RESULTS: Among 35 patients selected, 18 patients underwent to open surgery, 4 patients had a combined approach with endoscopy and open surgery, while 13 patients were managed only with an endoscopic approach, with a minimum of 1 year of follow-up. Our results highlighted that the global percentage of success 12 months after the treatment was 93% and it not vary according to the tipology of the approach used if a radical excision of the lesion is achieved. More in depth, among 35 cases, only 2 patients were found to have recurrences and were treated with coronal and endoscopic approach. CONCLUSION: It is fundamental to underline that surgery must be carried on in a radical manner to treat these tend to recur. A complete removal of the lesion and bone peripheral border filing are essential to perform a correct and definitive treatment. Also, endoscopic approach can be taken into account when tumors are localized median to a sagittal plan crossing the orbit median wall and when they did not massively compromised paranasal sinus walls.

Aesthetic restoration in maxillo-mandibular malformations: the role of genioplasty.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determinate how orthognatic surgery aids to cure many skull and face abnormalities and to help re-establishing the correct occlusive relation thanks to the repositioning of the maxillo-mandibular skeleton basis. METHODS: The study included 183 male patients and 338 female patients, with an average age of 23 years. The sample series was divided according to specific pathologies. All patients underwent surgical procedures and the therapeutic strategy was determined based on the anomalies presented. RESULTS: 113 patients had a II class dental skeletal occlusion, 180 patients had a III class dental-skeletal occlusion and 222 patients had skull-facial abnormalities. 5 patients underwent only a genioplasty, 82 patients underwent a genioplasty associated with BSSO, 175 patients underwent a genioplasty associated with Le Fort I osteotomy and the remaining 253 patients underwent a genioplasty associated with BSSO and Le Fort I osteotomy. CONCLUSION: The experience shows that genioplasty has been successfully introduced in orthognathic surgical therapeutic procedures, for dental-skeleton abnormalities and mandibular asymmetries treatment. In recent years, the evolution of computer systems has allowed an accurate assessment and programming, by means of the three-dimensional display, which are of great help in the course of diagnosis and evaluation of the displacements to be carried out, in order to obtain optimal aesthetic results.

Retrospective analysis of 301 patients with orbital floor fracture.

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyse patients with orbital floor fracture who were treated at the Department of Odontostomatology and Maxillofacial Surgery, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, between 2008 and 2013. Patients were evaluated by age, sex, aetiology, clinical findings, fracture pattern, ocular injury, treatment, complications, and sequelae. We evaluated surgical outcomes and complications with the use of different surgical approaches and various materials used to reconstruct the orbital floor. In total, there were 301 orbital fractures. Two hundred and seventeen patients were men (72.1%) and 84 were women (27.9%). The average age of the patients was 37.2 years (range, 9-90 years). The leading cause of these fractures was violent assault (27.3%). Pure blow-out fractures (50.2%) were the most represented pattern, followed by zygomatic complex (46.5%). The most common symptom was hypoesthesia extending through the territory of the second trigeminal branch (TBH; 32.9%). Diplopia was present in 20.2% of patients followed by enophthalmos (2.3%) and extraocular movement limitation (1.7%). Ocular symptoms significantly improved following surgical repair. The most common postoperative complications included TBH in 34.2%, scarring 26%, and diplopia in 16.4% of the patients.

Fronto-ethmoidal osteoma. Open treatment.

INTRODUCTION: Osteoma is a benign tumour, composed of mature compact or cancellous bone, which can arise in any facial bone. Among the paranasal sinuses, the frontal and ethmoid sinuses are most frequently involved. Osteoma grows very slowly and small lesions are often not symptomatic. On the other hand, sometimes patients present with symptoms such as sinusitis, headache or ophtalmologic manifestations. These findings are secondary to obstruction of the involved sinus cavity with secondary mucocele formation or occasionally an expansile lesion with distortion of the facial contour. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2005 to 2010, twenty-one (21) patients affected with non-syndromic fronto-ethmoidalosteomas were evaluated in our Department. Collected data include patients' age at the time of disorders, gender, presenting signs and symptoms, primary diagnosis, type and characteristics of the treatment performed, radiological findings and post-treatment results. All patients were investigated by CT scans in axial and coronal planes. The treatment and outcomes of this group were reviewed. RESULTS: All patients of the study underwent surgery and had a follow-up of at least 5 years. Surgical excision of the tumour was undertaken. Postoperative CT scans in axial and coronal planes showed complete removal of the tumour in all cases. No complications or recurrences were observed. DISCUSSION: Small, asymptomatic osteomas probably do not need to be treated but should be observed periodically. Surgical management remains the mainstay of treatment for these tumours. It requires total excision via an adequate approach, depending upon the site of presentation. CONCLUSION: A purely endoscopic endonasal approach has the risk of incomplete excision. In our experience open technique provides a wide exposure and better control. Even frontal osteomas can be safely removed by careful open surgery KEY WORDS: Ethmoidal sinus, Frontal sinus, Open treatment, Osteoma, Paranasal sinuses.

Variation of the upper airways in pediatric patients with OSAS and retrusion of the midface.

In pediatric patients, the incidence of Sleep-Disorder breathing (SDB) is 2% for OSAS and 7-8% for snoring. Snoring, sleep apnea and the development of neurocognitive and behavioral disorders represent the main symptoms. In these children, snoring is noisy and is present for the greater part of sleep. Accurate diagnosis and treatment protocol is critical for a child with OSAS as it is associated to complications as: pulmonary hypertension, chronic pulmonary heart disease, low height-weight development, behavioral problems, reduced school performance, bedwetting and daytime sleepiness or irritability. For this reason, over the years different surgical techniques were developed to solve the clinical symptoms evident on the polysomnographic test. In this paper, the authors report the experience at the Department of Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery, Policlinico Umberto I, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, in the treatment of pediatric patients with OSAS and midface retrusion.

Endoscopic approach to maxillo-facial trauma.

AIM: This article reviews the application of endoscope-assisted techniques to the treatment of maxillofacial trauma and discusses some aspects of these techniques and reporting our experience. INTRODUCTION: In the last decades, diagnostical imaging, surgical techniques and surgical instrument development allowed a great progress in management of facial fractures. In recent years, to some Authors, endoscopic approach to maxillofacial trauma has become common for reducing zygomatic arch, orbital blow-out, medial orbital wall, frontal sinus and subcondylar mandibular fractures. The endoscopic reduction of facial fractures as an alternative to open reduction allowed to manage patients with less unwanted complications. In fact, endoscopic approach permit to decrease perisurgical morbidity and offers to surgeons to reach good results. DISCUSSION: Indications to endoscopic reduction are represented by dimension, extension and site of the fracture and to the surgeon's experience. CONCLUSIONS: The use of endoscopy in maxillo-facial surgery represents one of the main realities of modern medicine together with advanced sectors of biomedical engineering research. In this way, not only time of hospitalization will be reduced but also morbidity in maxillofacial surgery.