Publications by authors named "Francesco S De Ponte"

Bean syndrome (BS) is a rare congenital angiomatosis affecting multiple organ systems. The exact etiology is still not well-known. About 200 cases with heterogeneous clinical presentations have been reported worldwide.

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New technologies are increasingly widespread in medical practice. Particularly, the 3D view is considered among the most useful innovations for surgery. It allows the operator to reconstruct the patient's anatomy in his own mind, going beyond his personal imagination.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The diagnostic criteria for silent sinus syndrome (SSS) are debated, particularly regarding cases that arise post-trauma or surgery, which are currently often excluded from diagnosis due to the absence of spontaneous development.
  • - A systematic review analyzed 86 articles from the past decade, organized into six categories, and included two clinical cases of men who developed SSS after motorcycle accidents and surgeries.
  • - The authors argue that post-traumatic/surgical SSS occurs more frequently than idiopathic SSS and suggest renaming it to "Post-traumatic sinus syndrome" or CDR syndrome, accompanied by specific diagnostic criteria.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the patterns of maxillo-facial fractures in Italy across different phases of the pandemic.
  • It analyzed data from 2938 patients who underwent surgery for facial fractures during four key periods: pre-pandemic, first wave, partial restrictions, and post-pandemic.
  • Significant differences were found in hospitalization causes between pre-pandemic and certain pandemic phases, while demographics like gender and age showed no notable changes over time.
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Central giant cell reparative granuloma (CGCRG) of the jaw is a neoformation localized in the mandible or in the maxillary bone and characterized by fibrous tissue, osteoclast-like giant cells and reactive bone formation. The CGCRG is a less frequent benign tumor but sometimes it is characterized by an aggressive behavior with a very rapid growth. It affects the young adults mainly and the children occasionally.

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The frontal sinus is one the most complex of the paranasal sinuses, its proximity to the cranial vault and the orbit cause that frontal sinus pathologies can progress to involve these structures and lead to significant morbidity, or even death. Surgical management of the frontal sinus is technically challenging, the most commonly used surgical approaches are coronal, butterfly, gullwing and suprabrow. The purpose of this article is to propose the C-S approach, an interesting alternative to the gullwing approach for the managing of median and paramedian frontal sinus lesions or isolated displaced fractures of the anterior wall.

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Styloid Jugular Nutcracker (SJN, also known as Eagle Jugular Syndrome EJS) derives from a jugular stenosis caused by an abnormal styloid process, compressing the vessel in its superior portion (J3) against the C1 anterior arch. It could be considered a venous vascular variant of Eagle Syndrome (ES). Main clinical features of this ES variant are headache, pulsatile tinnitus and dizziness, possibly related to venous hypertension and impaired cerebral parenchyma drainage.

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Although events such as tooth extraction and oral surgery were considered for a while the sole triggering factor for Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (MRONJ), it is still unclear if trigger events may be precipitating factors that accelerate the onset of the disease that would have possibly occurred anyway. Therefore, this research aimed to retrospectively analyze MRONJ cases diagnosed in our tertiary referral hospital during the last 14 years, focusing on the onset of the disease, potential trigger events, and countermeasures to update the knowledge on their pathogenesis. An audit of patients diagnosed with MRONJ attending our department from 2008 to 2021was performed.

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Capsaicin is a chili peppers extract, genus Capsicum, commonly used as a food spice. Since ancient times, Capsaicin has been used as a "homeopathic remedy" for treating a wild range of pathological conditions but without any scientific knowledge about its action. Several studies have demonstrated its potentiality in cardiovascular, nephrological, nutritional, and other medical fields.

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Assessing maximum voluntary bite force is important to characterize the functional state of the masticatory system. Due to several factors affecting the estimation of the maximum bite force, a unique solution combining desirable features such as reliability, accuracy, precision, usability, and comfort is not available. The aim of the present study was to develop a low-cost bite force measurement device allowing for subject-specific customization, comfortable bite force expression, and reliable force estimation over time.

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Background: Several anatomic relationships between the ear and the temporo-mandibular joint have been proposed to account for the presence of tinnitus during temporo-mandibular disorders. Among the otomandibular structures, the discomallear ligament (DML) is interposed between the malleus and the retrodiscal capsular complex. The aim of present paper was to study through dissection the frequency and morphology of DML, to characterize its type of collagen, and to evaluate the DML on routine computed tomography (CT).

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Transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy by vestibular approach (TOETVA) represents an innovative and scarless technique for thyroid surgery. The procedure is conducted via a three-port technique at the oral vestibule using a 10mm port for the 30° endoscope and two additional 5mm ports for the dissecting and coagulating instruments. Patients meeting the following criteria can be considered as candidates for TOETVA: (a) an ultrasonographically (US) estimated thyroid diameter =10cm; (b) US-estimated gland volume =45mL; (c) nodule size =50mm; (d) presence of a benign tumor, such as a thyroid cyst or a single- or multinodular goiter; (e) Bethesda 3 and/or 4 categories, and (f) papillary microcar-cinoma without the evidence of metastasis.

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Background: Eagle syndrome (ES) is a rare symptomatic condition generally caused by an elongated styloid process (SP) or calcification of the stylohyoid complex. On the diagnosis is made, its treatment remains subjective since the indications for surgical intervention are still not standardized. Although styloidectomy is the surgical treatment of choice, no consensus exists regarding the transcervical or/and transoral route.

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Radiotherapy is essential for achieving and maintaining local control in head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma patients. However, radiotherapy may cause outgrowth disturbances of facial bone and soft tissue, resulting in facial asymmetry.Several studies have shown that the management of irradiated bones still remains challenging.

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Background: Orbital fractures are classified as diseases usually related to common midface trauma. It represents the most challenging treatment due to the complex anatomy, physiology, and aesthetic role. A midface trauma involves also the zygomatic complex and the nose, however the orbit fracture seems to be a more frequent disease due to its anatomical features.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined the clinical outcomes and changes in oral health-related quality of life for osteoporotic patients suffering from medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (MRONJ) over a 10-year period.
  • Forty-one patients underwent marginal osseous resective jaw surgery, and a year after the procedure, all showed complete mucosal healing and no signs of recurring disease.
  • Quality-of-life surveys indicated significant improvements in symptoms, with patients reporting reduced pain and discomfort, highlighting the surgery's effectiveness and the importance of assessing patient-centered outcomes.
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Objectives: To evaluate non-invasively the morphological features of both lateral pterygoid muscle (LPM) and masseter muscle by using diffusion tensor Imaging on two patients affected by mandibular asymmetry.

Methods: Two female patients with mandibular excess and asymmetry who underwent Le Fort I osteotomy and bilateral sagittal split osteotomy were recruited for this study. Morphological (T weighted) and diffusion weighted images were acquired with a 3T scanner 1 week before (T0) and 1 month after the surgery (T1).

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Cases of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) have been more commonly associated with aminobiphosphonate therapy than with alkylbiphosphonate treatment. Here, we report a case of MRONJ in a subject who received an alkylbiphosphonate, clodronate, for the treatment of osteoporosis, and discuss the pathogenic mechanisms of alkylbiphosphonates and the possible reasons for the spontaneous and rapid remission of MRONJ occurring in our patient.

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A variety of techniques and materials for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of traumatized maxillary ridges prior to dental implants placement have been described in literature. Autogenous bone grafting is considered ideal by many researchers and it still remains the most predictable and documented method. The aim of this report is to underline the effectiveness of using allogeneic bone graft for managing maxillofacial trauma.

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Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is an adverse effect of bisphosphonate treatment that has become the subject of increasing investigations, in particular due to its poorly understood pathogenesis. Several experimental studies on animal models have been conducted; however, the majority of these replicate human ONJ following tooth extraction, and describe alterations in the bone and gingival epithelium when necrosis is manifested. The aim of the present study was to analyze the rat mandibular bone and gingival epithelium during 45 days of zoledronate treatment (which is a bisphosphonate agent), without tooth extraction.

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Plasma cell tumors are lymphoid neoplastic proliferations of B cells. Multiple myeloma is the disseminated type of this disorder, while localized forms of plasma cell neoplasms are solitary plasmacytoma of bone that is observed as centrally localized in bones, and extramedullar plasmacytoma (EMP) that develops in soft tissues. EMP of the head and neck region is a rare malignant tumor comprising approximately 3% of all plasma cell tumors, and approximately 0.

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