Treatment Outcome of the Transfacial Titanium Epiplating System for Total Nasal Defects.

BACKGROUND: Malignant tumors are the most frequent reason for acquired defects of the nose. Bone-anchored craniofacial prostheses represent a secure, uncomplicated, and cosmetically acceptable rehabilitative alternative to surgical reconstruction. The aim of this study was to determine a potential benefit of the Titanium Epiplating System (Fa. Medicon, Tuttlingen, Germany) as a grouped implant system in the anatomically difficult nasal region with limited bone supply. METHODS: Patients with complete nasal defects who received a transfacial Titanium Epiplating System between January of 2009 and December of 2013 for nasal prostheses were included. The Epiplating titanium plates are specially adapted to the nasal region and were modified individually. Implant survival, periimplantitis, clinical course, and risk factors for implant survival were assessed retrospectively, including univariate statistics. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients were included in this study. At the time of last follow-up, 51 of 53 Epiplating systems (96.2 percent) were stable in situ. One titanium plate had to be renewed because of a traumatic accident and one plate had to be removed because of disease recurrence. Periimplantitis occurred in 7.5 percent and could be treated successfully by either local or systemic antibiotic therapy without any loss of stability in bone anchorage. Only smoking significantly increased the risk of periimplantitis (p = 0.013), whereas age, irradiation, chemotherapy, and immunosuppression did not influence the outcome of therapy. The median healing time with use of the Titanium Epiplating System was 3.6 ± 2.7 months. CONCLUSIONS: The Titanium Epiplating System is a safe and uncomplicated system for bone-anchored retention of nasal prostheses. Good aesthetic results can be achieved. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.

Basosquamous carcinoma of the head and neck: clinical and histologic characteristics and their impact on disease progression.

OBJECTIVES: Basosquamous carcinoma (BSC) is a rare tumor entity, and the most common onset is in the head and neck region (BSC-HN). The data on diagnosis, treatment, and especially risk assessment concerning disease course and outcome are deficient or inconsistent. This study aimed to evaluate risk factors for local relapse (LR) and lymph node metastasis (LNM) and their impact on progression-free survival (PFS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a retrospective monocentric study, patients with BSC-HN treated between 1999 and 2011 were analyzed regarding clinical and histologic characteristics. Prognostic parameters for LR, LNM, and PFS were evaluated. In total, 89 patients (55 male, 34 female, mean age of 71.8 years) with a mean follow-up time of 47.7 months (range 12-112) were included. RESULTS: LR occurred in four patients (4.5%), LNM occurred in five patients (5.6%). Patients with LNM had a significantly shorter PFS time (16.1 months) compared with patients without LNM (154.2 months; P < .001). Tumor depth and size (T classification), incomplete resection, localization at the ear, deep maximal vertical infiltration, muscle and vessel invasion all showed significant (P < .05) associations with LR, LNM, and shorter PFS time. BSC showed more histologic features of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), especially with regard to BerEP4 expression. CONCLUSION: While histology shows some typical characteristics of BCC, the biologic behavior and aggressiveness of BSC are similar to those of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. This is the first study to show that LR and, especially, LNM indicate a higher risk of an unfavorable outcome.

Mutation analysis of Netrin 1 and HMX3 genes in patients with superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome.

CONCLUSION: In spite of its absence in the control population, there is questionable evidence for the alteration c.114C->T in the HMX3 gene being implicated in the development of superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD). However, the concept of a complex disease is valid for SSCD and a possible molecular origin can neither be confirmed nor excluded by the results of this study. OBJECTIVES: SSCD was first described in 1998 by Minor et al. While the etiology is not clear, findings from both temporal bone CT and histologic studies suggest a congenital or developmental origin. In recent years, a couple of genes regulating inner ear morphogenesis have been described. Specifically, Netrin-1 and HMX3 have been shown to be critically involved in the formation of the SCC. Molecular alterations in these two genes might lead to a disturbed development of this canal and might represent an explanation for SSCD. METHODS: DNA was extracted from whole blood of 15 patients with SSCD. The coding sequences of Netrin-1 and HMX3 were amplified by PCR and sequenced. RESULTS: One sequence alteration, heterozygous c.114C->T (conservative change without alteration of amino acid) in exon 1 of HMX3, was detected in 2 of 15 patients but not in 300 control chromosomes. The study was supported in part by the Emilia-Guggenheim-Schnurr-Foundation, Basel, Switzerland.