The Journal of craniofacial surgery
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Intraoperative molding of polymethyl-methacrylate into complex three-dimensional shapes with correct thickness is often a time-consuming process and may lead to unsatisfying cosmetical results. This article describes an intraoperative technique to assemble a polymethyl-methacrylate implant as a replica of the patient's bone flap. ⋯ The technique is feasible and can be applied in early and delayed cranioplasty procedures. In selected patients, immediate single-stage reconstruction avoids a second operation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Transverse effects after surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion in the midpalatal suture using computed tomography.
Surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion is the treatment of choice for correcting maxillary transverse deficiency in adults. Traditionally, the appliance for expansion is tooth-borne and tissue-tooth-borne devices (Hyrax and Haas). Although a number clinical and radiographic studies have evaluated the surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion, only limited information is available to study the transverse movement of the midpalatal suture with computed tomography. ⋯ The mean of midpalatal suture opening and screw opening for Haas group was 5.19 and 8.78 mm, and for the Hyrax group, 5.85 and 8.51 mm, respectively. Both groups showed parallel-shaped separation of the midpalatal opening with no significant difference in the anterior and posterior portion. Midpalatal/jackscrews opening proportion was greater in the Hyrax group (69,2%) than in the Haas group (60%).
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Case Reports
A new surgical approach for the treatment of chronic recurrent temporomandibular joint dislocation.
Chronic recurrent temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dislocation is defined as the complete loss of articular relationships, during mouth-wide opening, between the articular fossa of the temporal bone and the condyle-disk complex. The most frequent pathogenetic factors involved in chronic recurrent dislocation of the TMJ are supposed to be trauma, abnormal chewing movements, TMJ ligaments, capsule laxity, and masticatory muscles disorders. ⋯ Eminectomy, whose validity has been demonstrated by several authors, acts on the bony obstacle, preventing condylar locking, but does not have a therapeutic effect on TMJ ligament and capsular laxity or masticatory muscle incoordination, which seem to be the real cause of TMJ dislocation in most cases. The authors present a mini-invasive modified technique of eminectomy, which aims to act on both the obstacle and the cause with respect and restoration of TMJ biomechanical constraints.
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The authors report the case of a patient who sustained a complex craniofacial trauma secondary to a recreational fireworks blast. Initial assessment and management were performed with a multidisciplinary approach to achieve control of cerebral hemorrhage, debridement of wounds and brain, isolation of the brain from the external environment, reconstruction of the cranial base floor, and orbital and facial reconstruction. Modification of multiple conventional approaches, along with a multispecialty surgical team, were used to deal effectively with this unusual patient who was treated by single-stage immediate management. Reconstruction of both the intracranial and extracranial compartments was considered successful with a satisfactory cosmetic result.