Tongue cancers during pregnancy: Case reports and review of literature.

Background: Due to its rarity, there is no standard treatment for tongue cancers that concur with pregnancy. Treatment depends on the stage of cancer, gestational age of the pregnancy, and the wish of the mother to maintain the pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to review the literature and to report 5 new cases.

Prognostic value of bone scintigraphy in cancer patients with osteonecrosis of the jaw.

Purpose Of The Report: identifying imaging predictors of healing of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) in cancer patients may assist in better stratification of treatment strategies.

Materials And Methods: patients with ONJ were followed prospectively and underwent bone scintigraphy, both planar and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging. End points were time to healing and the number of recurrences.

Scintigraphic evaluation of mandibular bone turnover in patients with solid tumors receiving zoledronic acid.

Bisphosphonates (BP) have been associated with the occurrence of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), possibly by causing an excessive bone turnover inhibition. However, little in vivo evidence exists to support this theory. The (99m)Tc-medronate scintigrams of patients with skeletal metastases and BP use (n=40) were individually matched with cancer patients without BP exposure (n=40) and controls with neither malignancy nor BP use (n=40).

Bisphosphonates in oncology: rising stars or fallen heroes.

The introduction of bisphosphonates in oncology has dramatically changed the management of patients with metastatic bone disease. In this manuscript, we thoroughly scrutinize the available body of clinical trials supporting the use of bisphosphonates in this setting and review new and ongoing research. Additionally, we summarize the data showing the benefits of bisphosphonate use in the prevention of treatment-induced bone loss and the intriguing emerging evidence on the antitumor potential of some of these agents when used in the adjuvant setting.

Initial experience with conservative treatment in cancer patients with osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) and predictors of outcome.

Background: Overall survival (OS) and outcome of cancer patients with bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) using conservative treatment (chlorhexidine 0.12% rinse, intermittent antibiotics, and careful sequestrectomy) are unknown.

Design: In all, 33 ONJ patients were studied for OS and ONJ outcome.

[Interview with Professor Eric Fossion on the subject of bisphosphonates. Interview by Th van Nuijs].

Th. van Nuijs, chief editor of the Revue Belge de Médecine Dentaire, interviews Professor Eric Fossion on the problematic of bisphosfonates and their role in the osteonecrosis of the jaws. Prof.

Malignancies of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses: long-term outcome with conventional or three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term clinical outcome and toxicity of conventional and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy for malignancies of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses.

Methods And Materials: Between January 1976 and February 2003, 127 patients with histologically proven cancer of the paranasal sinuses (n = 119) or nasal cavity (n = 8) were treated with preoperative (n = 61), postoperative (n = 51), or primary (n = 15) radiotherapy, using conventional (n = 74) or three-dimensional conformal (n = 53) techniques. No elective neck irradiation of the cervical lymph nodes was performed in N0 patients.

Reconstruction for large defects of the scalp and cranium.

Thirty-one patients with large scalp and cranium defects were reconstructed with free tissue transfer and scalp flaps. Twenty-eight of the defects resulted after tumour resection, two after infection and one after an extensive burn. Thirty-one free flaps (mainly the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous and the radial forearm fasciocutaneous) and five large (> 200 cm2) scalp flaps were used.

Reconstruction of extensive defects of the parotid region: experience with the pectoralis major and free latissimus dorsi flaps.

Large defects of the parotid region resulting from excision of malignant tumours, or necrotic tissue due to radiotherapy, should not always be closed with local tissue, for several reasons. Occasionally, myocutaneous flaps are indicated, giving better results. We describe the problems of such tissue defects and our experience over a 10-year period using 2 different flap reconstruction techniques.

CT findings in osteoradionecrosis of the mandible.

CT scans of ten patients in whom the diagnosis of mandibular osteoradionecrosis was proven pathologically or by clinical follow-up were reviewed. All ten patients had bony abnormalities (cortical interruptions and loss of spongiosa trabeculation) on the symptomatic side. These were predominantly seen in the body of the mandible (premolar and molar region, eight patients), in some of these cases extending into the retromolar triangle (two patients) or mandibular angle (two patients).

The role of free pericranium grafts in augmentation rhinoplasty.

Various tissues and materials have been used in augmentation rhinoplasty. This paper presents a retrospective analysis of 14 patients, 8 female and 6 male, in whom free pericranium grafts were used in order to restore postsurgery or posttraumatic nasal defects. There were no complications from either the donor or the recipient site.

Surgical management of the osteoradionecrotic mandible with free vascularised composite flaps.

Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the mandible is a serious sequel to radiotherapy administered for malignant neoplasms of the head and neck. In a retrospective/prospective study, 28 patients with mandibular defects due to ORN were reviewed. Monocortical and bicortical defects as well as pathological fractures were reconstructed by means of a free serratus anterior/rib (n = 8) or a vascularised iliac crest flap (n = 25).

Eosinophilic granuloma of the head and neck: CT and MRI features in three cases.

We report the radiological findings and more specifically the MRI features in three typical cases of Langerhans' cell histiocytosis of the head and neck. All three cases were of solitary eosinophilic granuloma of bone: two mandibular and one temporal bone lesion. Reports on the MRI features of head and neck eosinophilic granulomas are rare.

[Oral cancer: epidemiology and prognosis].

More than 90% of intra-oral malignancies are squamous cell carcinomas. Oral cancer is far more frequent in developing countries than in developed ones. This has probably to do with the differences in the use of tobacco and alcohol and with factors such as oral hygiene, nutrition and general resistance.

Chromosome abnormalities in cementifying fibroma.

Cementifying fibroma is the most frequent benign fibro-osseous odontogenic tumor. We found chromosome abnormalities in a second case of this type of benign tumor. The chromosome changes in both cases are different.

Hematic cyst of the orbit.

We describe a case of a 44-year-old man, presenting with progressive proptosis of the right eye. Computed Tomographic (CT)-examination showed a cystic mass in the lacrimal gland fossa of the right orbit. The lesion was removed in toto.

Carcinoma of the oral cavity in patients over 75 years of age.

The results have been analyzed of a 15-year retrospective study on the presentation and survival of 46 patients aged > or = 75 years with oral carcinoma. All tumors were staged according to the UICC criteria. The presence of other malignant tumors in nine, premalignancy in five, and systemic disease in 15 patients was noted.

The value of cryotherapy in the management of trigeminal neuralgia.

Cryotherapy to 32 individual branches of the trigeminal nerve in 27 patients, who were followed up for 3 years, resulted in pain relief out-lasting return of sensation. After one year 65% of patients were pain free. In the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, cryotherapy is an easy method with similar results but lower complication rate in comparison with other peripheral methods.

Hormonal therapy in the treatment of mandibular metastasis of breast carcinoma. Report of a case.

We present the clinical history of a 39-year-old woman, who has survived for over 10 years with metastatic breast cancer. After combined surgery and radiotherapy of the primary tumor and the regional lymph nodes, all bone metastases gradually disappeared under chemotherapy and continuing hormonal treatment. This complete remission included a large mandibular metastasis, which had received additional radiotherapy of 21 Gy.

Myogenous or arthrogenous limitation of mouth opening: correlations between clinical findings, MRI, and clinical outcome.

The reproducibility and predictive power of MRI diagnosis was evaluated in a group of 70 patients with limited mouth opening. The predictive reliability of the MRI findings was assessed by comparing the images with a final clinical diagnosis that was based on the initial clinical diagnosis, adjusted and refined, when possible, by findings made during the treatment period (conservative treatment in 51 patients, conservative and surgical treatment in 19 patients). The overall reproducibility of the MRI interpretation by the radiologist appeared very good.

Surgical treatment of exophthalmos and exorbitism: a modified technique.

A modified surgical technique for the treatment of exophthalmos caused by Graves' disease or meningioma is presented. It is based on the orbital expansion as presented by Tessier (1969). It consisted of a lateral marginotomy with extension to the superior and inferior orbital rim and removal of the great wing of the sphenoid bone.

[Microsurgical reconstruction of the irradiated mandible with deep iliac circumflex flap].

From 1979 to 1988, 30 osteomuscular or osteomyocutaneous free flaps of the iliac crest (revascularized by the deep circumflex pedicle) were used to reconstruct 28 mandibles severely compromised by radiotherapy exceeding 66 Grays. In addition to a perfect graft raising and microsurgical technique, perfect closure of the mucosal plane appears to be an essential factor of success. Over the years, this iliac crest flap appears to improve the radiological appearance of the bone stumps on either side.

Serratus anterior muscle in composite head and neck flaps.

The serratus muscle (SAM) can be raised as an isolated muscular or osteomuscular flap on its nutrient vessels or in combination with a latissimus dorsi (LD) myocutaneous flap on the thoracodorsal pedicle for various reconstructive purposes. The aim of the present is to report on the results achieved after the use of the SAM alone (n = 7) and in combination with an LD (n = 3) after tumor resection or osteoradionecrosis (ORN) in ten patients with defects of the head and neck. One flap was lost due to venous thrombosis.