• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.229-234
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• 2016

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to investigate the demographic patterns of maxillofacial prosthetic treatment to identify the characteristics and geographic distribution of patients with maxillofacial prosthetics in the capital region of Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS. This retrospective analytical multicenter study was performed by chart reviews. This study included patients who visited the department of prosthodontics at four university dental hospitals for maxillofacial prosthetic rehabilitation. Patients with facial and congenital defects or with insufficient medical data were excluded. The patients were classified into three categories based on the location of the defect. Patients' sex, age, and residential area were analyzed. Pearson's chi-square test with a significance level of 0.05 was used to analyze the variables. RESULTS. Among 540 patients with maxillofacial prosthetics, there were 284 (52.59%) male patients and 256 (47.41%) female patients. The number of the patients varied greatly by hospital. Most patients were older than 70, and the most common defect was a hard palate defect. Chi-square analysis did not identify any significant differences in sex, age, and distance to hospital for any defect group (P>.05). CONCLUSION. The results of this study indicated that there was imbalance in the distribution of patients with maxillofacial prosthetic among the hospitals in the capital region of Korea. Considerations on specialists and insurance policies for the improvement of maxillofacial prosthetics in Korea are required.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.67-71
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• 2001

A cyst that develops in children's jaw occasionally disturbs the eruption of the succedaneous teeth. These teeth, however, usually have the potential of eruption. So, if the obstacles to eruption are eliminated, it is possible that the teeth erupt spontaneously to their normal position. In those cases, it usually requires the management of the cyst and the eruption guidance of the displaced teeth. Many surgical procedures have been described for the elimination of cysts. When the cyst is large and displaces the permanent teeth, marsupializaion is a surgical technique that may be preferred to enucleation in treatment of cysts. In marsupializaion, if the opening is maintained properly, it may be possible to manage the cyst and guide the displaced teeth into the normal position. In these cases, the cysts were managed with marsupialization in concomittent application of acrylic obturators, and as a result the displaced permanent teeth were guided into normal position. Even though the etiologic factors of the two cases are different, the treatment was the same. And both cases show that the potential for heal ing is remarkable with spontaneous relocation of displaced tooth, provided the opening is maintained during the eruption of the permanent tooth.

• Journal of the Korean Medical Association
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• v.61 no.12
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• pp.724-731
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• 2018

Our faces can express a remarkable range of subtle emotions and silent messages. Because the face is so essential for complex social interactions that are part of our everyday lives, aesthetic repair and restoration of function are an important tasks that we must not take lightly. Soft-tissue defects occur in trauma patients and require thorough evaluation, planning, and surgical treatment to achieve optimal functional and aesthetic outcomes, while minimizing the risk of complications. Recognizing the full nature of the injury and developing a logical treatment plan help determine whether there will be future aesthetic or functional deformities. Proper classification of the wound enables appropriate treatment, and helps predict the postoperative appearance and function. Comprehensive care of trauma patients requires a diverse breadth of skills, beginning with an initial evaluation, followed by resuscitation. Traditionally, facial defects have been managed with closure or grafting, and prosthetic obturators. Sometimes, however, large defects cannot be closed using simple methods. Such cases, which involve exposure of critical structures, bone, joint spaces, and neurovascular structures, requires more complex treatment. We reviewed and classified causes of significant trauma resulting in facial injuries that were reconstructed by microsurgical techniques without simple sutures or coverage with partial flaps. A local flap is a good choice for reconstruction, but large defects are hard to cover with a local flap alone. Early microsurgical reconstruction of a large facial defect is an excellent choice for aesthetic and functional outcomes.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.331-337
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• 2018

Prosthetic rehabilitation of an edentulous patient who has a maxillary defect is difficult to achieve for many clinicians. The maxillary defect causes leakage of air during pronunciation and compromises denture stability, support and retention by reducing denture-bearing area and breaking peripheral seal. In these patients, the sizes and shapes of defects are very important factors which attribute to prognosis of maxillary obturators. This case report shows the prosthetic rehabilitation of the patient who had maxillectomy on the right maxillary sinus because of squamous cell carcinoma. The patient had a stepwise treatment protocol which started with pre-operative dental examination and followed by surgical, interim and definitive obturation phase. In this case, an acceptable level of retention could be obtained due to well-defined static defects and the preserved premaxillae and the patient was satisfied with the result of the treatment in the aspect of function and esthetics.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.430-435
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• 2000

Cleft lip and palate is one of the congenital anomalies which need comprehensive and multidisciplinary treatment plan because 1) oral cavity is an important organ with masticatory function as a start of digestive tract, 2) anatomic symmetry and balance is esthetically important in midfacial area, and 3) it is also important to prevent psycho-social problems by adequate restoration of normal facial appearance. There are many different protocols in the treatment of cleft lip and palate, but our department has adopted and modified the $Z{\"{u}}rich$ protocol, as published in the Journal of Korean Cleft Lip and Palate Association in 1998. The first challenge is feeding. Type of feeding aid ranges from simple obturators to active orthopedic appliances. In our department we use passive-type plate made up of soft and hard acrylic resin which permits normal maxillary growth. We use Millard's method to restore normal appearance and function of unilateral complete cleft lip. In consideration of both maxillary growth and phonetic problems, we first close soft palate at 18 months of age and delay the hard palate palatoplasty until 4 to 5 years of age. When soft palate is closed, posterior third of the hard palate is intentionally not denuded to allow normal maxillary growth. In hard palate palatoplasty the mucoperiosteum of affected site is not mobilized to permit residual growth of the maxilla. We have treated a patient with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate by Ajou protocol, which is a kind of modified $Z{\"{u}}rich$ protocol. It is as follows: Infantile orthopedics with passive-type plate such as Hotz plate, cheiloplasty with Millard's rotation-advancement flap, and two stage palatoplasty. It is followed by orthodontic treatment and secondary osteoplasty to augment cleft alveolus, orthognathic surgery, and finally rehabilitation with conventional prosthodontic treatment or implant installation. The result was good up to now, but we are later to investigate the final result with longitudinal follow-up study according to master plan by Ajou protocol.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.831-834
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• 2010

Purpose: Congenital absence of the vagina is a rare case. It occurs as a result of Mullerian duct aplasia or complete androgen insensitivity syndrome. The reconstructive modality includes skin graft, use of intestine and various methods of flap. We report a patient who underwent vulvoperineal fasciocutaneous flap to reconstruct congenital absence of the vagina, while the external genitalia and ovaries are normal. Methods: A 26-year-old woman presented with vaginal agenesis. Under general anesthesia, a U-shaped incision was made between the urethral meatus and the anus. The new vaginal pocket was created up to the level of the peritoneal reflection between the urinary structures and the rectum. Next, the vulvoperineal fasciocutaneous flaps were designed in a rectangular fashion. Flap elevation was begun at the lateral margin which the adductor longus fascia was incised and elevated, and the superficial perineal neurovascular pedicle was invested by the fascial layer. The medial border was then elevated. A subcutaneous tunnel was created beneath the inferior of the labia to rotate the flaps. The left vulvoperineal flap was rotated counterclockwise and the right was rotated clockwise. The neovaginal pouch was formed by approximating the medial and lateral borders. The tubed neovagina was then transposed into the cavity. Results: In 3 weeks, the vaginal canal remained supple After 6 weeks, the physical examination showed normalappearing labia majora and perineum with an adequate vaginal depth. A year after the operation, the patient had a 7 cm vagina of sufficient width with no evidence of contractures nor fibrous scar formation. The patient was sexually active without difficulty. Conclusion: Although many methods were described for reconstruction of vaginal absence, there is not a method yet to be approved as a perfect solution. We used the vulvoperineal fasciocutaneous flap to reconstruct a neovagina. This method had a following merits: a single-stage procedure, excellent flap reliability, the potential for normal function, minimal donor site morbidity and no need for subsequent dilatation, stents, or obturators. We thought that this operation has a good anatomic and functional results for reconstruction of the vagina.