Retrospective study on the treatment outcome of surgical closure of oroantral communications.

Purpose: A retrospective cohort study concerning the surgical closure of oroantral communications (OACs) was carried out to facilitate a comparison between treatment outcomes of conventional surgical treatment and new strategies for closure of OACs. Data were statistically analyzed to gather insight into possible predictor variables of recurrent OAC.

Patients And Methods: A cohort of patients treated for an OAC from 2004 through 2008 was reviewed. Recorded data included patient age and gender, location and duration of OAC, method of removal of the (pre)molar, presence of maxillary sinusitis, disturbed wound healing, and surgical treatment method. Data analysis included descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses with recurrence of OAC as the outcome variable.

Results: In total, 308 patients were included in the sample, of which 28 patients (9.1%) required a second intervention to repair an OAC. Of these 28 patients, 4 patients needed a third intervention, making the total number of recurrent OACs 32 (10.4%). In most cases (60.7%), a buccal advancement flap according to the method of Rehrmann was used to close the perforation. Multivariate regression analysis showed a 15 times higher risk of recurrence with maxillary sinusitis at follow-up.

Conclusions: Overall results of the study showed that OACs recur in about 1 of 10 patients and requires a second intervention after surgical closure. New strategies should therefore result in an equal or better treatment outcome to be considered a suitable treatment option. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the presence of maxillary sinusitis at follow-up is an important determinant of the treatment outcome of OAC repair.