Surgical approach of mandible osteoradionecrosis caused by idiopathic fracture

Introduction: Osteoradionecrosis of the jaws affects 1% to 6% of patients undergoing radiotherapy and is considered the most severe oral complication resulting from this therapeutic modality. Case report: This is a 65-year-old man diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in the left oral floor, treated with surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy. In the dental evaluation, no clinical or radiographic changes were observed. Two weeks after the radiotherapy, the patient reported severe pain in the mandible, with no report of trauma or fall. The panoramic radiograph showed a fracture in the left mandibular body, suggesting an idiopathic fracture while asleep. After ten days, there was intraoral bone exposure of the distal portion of the mandible and conservative treatment with analgesia, superficial osteotomy under local anesthesia and prophylactic antibiotic therapy was performed. The patient evolved with purulent secretion, extraoral fistula and elimination of bone sequestration, after five months, confirming the diagnosis of osteoradionecrosis. Thereby, 11 months after the fracture diagnosis, the patient underwent a surgical intervention with partial mandibulectomy of the distal portion. After seven months of post-surgical follow-up, the patient presents neither clinical or radiographic evidence of osteoradionecrosis. Conclusion: The treatment of osteoradionecrosis is considered challenging for dentists who deal with this side effect of radiotherapy. Therefore, the importance of training the dentist to work in all stages of cancer treatment is highlighted. (author)