Secondary closure of small- to medium-size palatal defects after ablative surgery: reappraisal of reconstructive techniques.

Purpose: Postoncologic reconstruction of the palate represents a major surgical challenge with respect to the thin intraoral and intranasal lining. Current reconstructive methods have ranged from obturative closure of the defect to microsurgical free tissue transfer. The final choice of treatment will be influenced by the size and location of the defect and surgeon experience.

[A diagnosed follicular cyst turned out to be a squamous cell carcinoma].

A 50-year-old man had undergone a complicated removal of tooth 48 which initially seemed related to a follicular cyst. Subsequently, it turned out that a squamous cell carcinoma had probably developed from the follicular cyst. The patient underwent excision of the tumour, hemimandibulectomy, a neck dissection, and reconstruction of the mandibula using a metal plate, followed by postoperative local radiotherapy.

Interforaminal implant placement in oral cancer patients: during ablative surgery or delayed? A 5-year retrospective study.

In a retrospective study, two mandibular prosthetic rehabilitation strategies supported by implants in oral cancer patients were evaluated: implants placed in the non-resected edentulous symphyseal area during ablative surgery (DAS implants); or at a later stage (postponed (P) implants). Medical files of patients from two head-neck oncology groups from 2000 to 2005 were screened for study inclusion. DAS protocol was used in one group and P protocol in the other.

[A peripheral osteoma].

A 43-year-old man appeared with a painless, asymptomatic swelling on the left side of his neck, which had existed for years and had slowly been progressing. After surgical removal, it became clear that it had to do with a peripheral osteoma. This is a benign lesion with a low incidence.