• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.586-590
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• 2008

Construction of an obturator for rehabilitation of a patient who underwent a maxillectomy is vital. Routinely a constructed obturator includes denture portion. A patient who may present anatomical limitations due to surgical or radiotherapy complications often challenges the clinician. Purpose: This clinical report describes a patient with severe trismus after surgical resection and radiotherapy treatment of a tumor in the upper left maxilla. Conclusion: This report describes the concepts of using a rotational path insertion for an obturator and a separately constructed maxillary denture. The stability and retention of the obturator were obtained from anatomical features. Where as these were achieved through magnetic attachments and the remaining edentulous ridge to ensure esthetic and function of the prosthesis.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.779-782
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• 2013

Chondroblastomas are rare entities accounting for approximately 1% of all primary bone tumors. We describe a case of a 7-year-old girl with a giant chondroblastoma of the maxilla, treated with bilateral class III maxillectomy and reconstruction with a double-barreled and double skin paddle fibular free flap. We show evidence of an excellent aesthetic outcome at 6 months' follow up with no evidence of tumor recurrence.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.319-324
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• 2017

Patients with maxillectomy defects predisposed to not only difficulty in deglutition, mastication, speech but also psychological depression from impaired facial esthetics that affect life quality. Obturator prostheses play a important role in restoring the lost form, function and the quality of life for patients with maxillectomy defects. This clinical report presents the simplified approach to predict the degree of adequate facial support by Artificial palate which reflected from a maxillary interim obturator during the stabilization period after maxillectomy.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.167-171
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• 2016

Patients undergone partial maxillectomy experience post-operative masticatory, phonetic, and swallowing difficulties. They also encounter social and psychological challenges due to changes in their facial appearances. Thus, functional and esthetic recovery through maxillofacial prosthesis becomes significant for these patients. The objective of an appropriate obturator is to restore palate and improve phonetic and swallowing ability by separating the oral cavity, nasal cavity, maxillary sinus, and nasopharynx. In this case report, an obturator was fabricated for a patient who had partial resection from the maxillary posterior region to the pharynx due to squamous cell carcinoma. The purpose of this case study is to describe the results because the patient was successfully improved both functionally and esthetically.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 1996

There are various defects caused by trauma or resection of maignant tumor in the orofacial region, which can be reconstructed with various regional and pararegional flaps. Among these defects, it is very difficult to reconstruct palatal and midfacial defects after maxillectomy and patients have problems in speaking and swallowing of food. Therefore it is very important for surgeons to reconstruct these defects functionally and esthetically and to return the patients to the normal social activity. These defects are usually obturated with prosthodontic appliances to assist the phonation and swallowing. But nowadays surgical reconstruction by various flaps was considered and performed for better rehabilitation. For this purpose the forehead flap, the nasolabial flap, the tongue flap, the sternocleidomastoideous flap, the temporal flap, the latissimus dorsi flap, the scapular flap etc. are used. We reconstructed small-sized plalatal defects with tongue flap, medium-sized palatal and maxillary defects after maxillectomy with temporal myofascial flap and large midfacial defects including eyeball exenteration with latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flaps. Here we are to report 5 cases of these flaps used for the reconstruction of palatal and midfacial defects and consider the versatility, reliability and limitation in use of these flaps.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.317-323
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• 2018

When oral cancer develops in the maxilla, oro-nasal communication occurs after surgical treatment including removal of the primary site. Restoration through an obturator is necessary to prevent food from storing due to non-oral opening, and to ensure proper pronunciation and aesthetic restoration. In this case, the patient was treated with right hemi-maxillectomy due to oral cancer and has residual abutment and poor periodontal support due to the effect of head and neck radiotherapy. The obturator was treated with a hybrid telescopic double crown denture. Reporting a successful prognosis in 18 months of follow-up.

• 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.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.397-404
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• 2022

Background Excessive use of corticosteroids therapy along with gross immunocompromised conditions in the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has raised the risks of contracting opportunistic fungal infections. Here, we describe our experience with the implementation of a surgical protocol to treat and reconstruct rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis. Methods A retrospective review of our prospectively maintained database was conducted on consecutive patients diagnosed with mucormycosis undergoing immediate reconstruction utilizing our "Mucormycosis Management Protocol." All patients included in this study underwent reconstruction after recovering from COVID-19. Wide local excision was performed in all cases removing all suspected and edematous tissue. Reconstruction was done primarily after clear margins were achieved on clinical assessment under a cover of injectable liposomal amphotericin B. Results Fourteen patients were included. The average age was 43.6 years and follow-up was 24.3 days. Thirteen patients had been admitted for inpatient care of COVID-19. Steroid therapy was implemented for 2 weeks in 11 patients and for 3 weeks in 3 patients. Eight patients (57.1%) had a maxillectomy and mucosal lining resection with/without skin excision, and six patients (42.8%) underwent maxillectomy and wide tissue excision (maxillectomy and partial zygomatic resection, orbital exenteration, orbital floor resection, nose debridement, or skull base debridement). Anterolateral thigh (ALT) flaps were used to cover defects in all patients. All flaps survived. No major or minor complications occurred. No recurrence of mucormycosis was noted. Conclusion The approach presented in this study indicates that immediate reconstruction is safe and reliable in cases when appropriate tissue resection is accomplished. Further studies are required to verify the external validity of these findings.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.41-47
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the functional abilities of the low bulb obturators with those of high bulb obturators in terms of patients' evaluation. Material and methods: This study included 11 maxillectomy patients who underwent postoperative prosthodontic rehabilitations. Two obturators of the same design except for different bulb heights, were fabricated for each of the maxillectomy patient. After two months of alternate use, the functions of the obturators were measured by investigating the patients' subjective evaluations in terms of convenience, speech, nasality, leakage, and mastication and identifying their preferred prostheses. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used as a statistical method (P < .05). Results: There were no significant differences in patient evaluations of low and high bulb obturators (P >.05). And patients' preferences varied. Conclusion: In extreme situation such as in mouth opening limitation, the use of low bulb obturators can be recommended and result in comparable speech function to that of obturators with high lateral walls.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2013

PURPOSE. To longitudinally assess the quality of life in maxillectomy patients rehabilitated with obturator prosthesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Thirty-six subjects were enrolled in the span of 16 months, out of which six were dropouts. Subjects (age group 20-60 years) with maxillary defects, irrespective of the cause, planned for definite obturator prosthesis, were recruited. The Hindi version of European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Head and Neck version 1 of Quality of Life Questionnaire was used before surgical intervention and one month after definitive obturator. Questionnaire includes 35 questions related to the patient's physical health, well being, psychological status, social relation and environmental conditions. The data were processed with statistical package for social science (SPSS). Probability level of P<.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS. The quality of life after rehabilitation with obturator prosthesis was 81.48% (${\pm}13.64$) on average. On item-level, maximum mean scores were obtained for items problem with teeth ($1.87{\pm}0.94$), pain in mouth ($1.80{\pm}0.92$), trouble in eating ($1.70{\pm}0.88$), trouble in talking to other people ($1.60{\pm}1.22$), problems in swallowing solid food ($1.57{\pm}1.22$) and bothering appearance ($1.53{\pm}1.04$); while minimum scores were obtained for the items coughing ($1.17{\pm}0.38$), hoarseness of voice ($1.17{\pm}0.53$), painful throat ($1.13{\pm}0.43$), trouble in having social contacts with friends ($1.10{\pm}0.40$) and trouble having physical contacts with family or friends ($1.10{\pm}0.31$). CONCLUSION. Obturator prosthesis is a highly positive and non-invasive approach to improve the quality of life of patients with maxillectomy defects.