Search

Purpose: To report on a cohort of patients referred to a tertiary center because of neuropathic pain after dental implant placement. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study of pain after dental implant placement involved a minimum follow-up of 12 months after the initial diagnosis of neuropathic pain or persistent, uncontrolled postoperative pain at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium, from January 2013 to June 2014. Results: Following clinical and radiologic examination, the cause of pain was established in 17 of 26 patients, while the cause was unknown in 9 of 26 patients. Regular implants were placed in the mandibles of 18 patients; in the remaining 8 patients, 6 received regular implants and 2 received a zygoma implant in the maxilla. Surgical management alone brought relief to 2 patients, surgical and pharmacologic management did so for 12 patients, and pharmacologic management alone brought relief for 10 patients. Conclusions: Early removal of an at-risk implant seems justified, preferably within 48 hours after placement. No treatment, either surgical or medical, seems to cure neuropathic pain, but amitriptyline appears to be associated with consistent improvement in symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between January 1, 1989 and April 30, 2012, approximately 2164 consecutive patients were treated with orthognathic surgery at the St. John's Hospital, Genk, Belgium. They all underwent a mandibular, maxillary, or bimaxillary osteotomy, performed by one of the 3 resident maxillofacial surgeons at the St. John's hospital in Genk. The purpose of the review was to investigate the incidence of major airway difficulties occurring postoperatively because of surgically related causes. It seemed that obstructive airway compromise was the only reason for urgent intervention to protect or to restore the airway. In total, 3 urgent unanticipated life-saving reintubations were attempted. One was successful, and the other was changed into an urgent tracheostomy. No deaths occurred in this patient series after orthognathic surgery. Osseous genioplasties, as stand-alone surgery or in combination with other simultaneous orthognathic procedures, do care the risk for a life-threatening respiratory distress because of a hematoma of the floor of the mouth, when performed with an oscillating saw or a surgical drill. If so, this probably will happen within the first 4 postoperative hours according to the experience in our series. This risk can be avoided by using a piezosurgical unit to perform the osseous genioplasty.