[Prosthetic dental rehabilitation on osseointegrated implants placed in irradiated mandibular bone. Apropos of 50 implants in 17 patients treated over a period of 5 years]

The authors report on their experience with prosthetic dental rehabilitation of 17 patients after surgery and radiotherapy for oncologic diseases of the oral cavity. 50 implants were inserted either in the mandibular residual bone or in a bone graft. These implants were inserted at least 5 months after radiotherapy, and functionally loaded at least 5 months after implanting. Depending on the degree of edentation, 2 to 6 implants were necessary to allow for a functional removable or fixed denture. 2 implants were lost because of lack of osseointegration and 10 were lost because of death of 4 patients. The longest observation period was 56 months and the mean observation time was 29 months. Not any osteoradionecrosis occurred : nevertheless, implantation in irradiated bone must remain a carefully planned operation in selected patients with a rigourous therapeutic protocol.