BackgroundThis study retrospectively investigated outcomes following dental implantation in patients with special needs who required general anesthesia to enable treatment.MethodsPatients underwent implant treatment under general anesthesia at the Clinic for the Disabled in Seoul National University Dental Hospital between January 2004 and June 2017. The study analyzed medical records and radiographs. Implant survival rates were calculated by applying criteria for success or failure.ResultsOf 19 patients in the study, 8 were males and 11 were females, with a mean age of 32.9 years. The patients included 11 with mental retardation, 3 with autism, 2 with cerebral palsy, 2 with schizophrenia, and 1 with a brain disorder; 2 patients also had seizure disorders. All were incapable of oral self-care due to serious cognitive impairment and could not cooperate with normal dental treatment. A total of 27 rounds of general anesthesia and 1 round of intravenous sedation were performed for implant surgery. Implant placement was performed in 3 patients whose prosthesis records could not be found, while 3 other patients had less than 1 year of follow-up after prosthetic treatment. When the criteria for implant success or failure were applied in 13 remaining patients, 3 implant failures occurred in 59 total treatments. The cumulative survival rate of implants over an average of 43.3 months (15-116 months) was 94.9%.ConclusionsFor patients with severe cognitive impairment who are incapable of oral self-care, implant treatment under general anesthesia showed a favorable prognosis.

An epidemiological study on diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) was done by analysis of 207 cases collected from the medical records of 6 major general hospitals in Seoul area during the period of 5 years between 1979 and 1984. There was female predominance in the occurrence of DKA (male/female ratio, 0.71) in spite of the male predominance in general prevalence of diabetes mellitus (1.80). This female predominance in DKA was most striking in the age group under 40. There was a significant seasonal variation in the occurrence of DKA. DKA occurred most frequently in colder season with the highest peak in December. In July and August, the hottest season in Korea, not even a single case of DKA was recorded in this series. No discernible precipitating factor was found in 39.3% of DKA cases and infections was present as a cause of DKA in 30% of cases. In 27.5%, DKA was the first clinical presentation of diabetes and in the remainders of cases, diabetes was known to be present for average of 6.4 years. Mortality of DKA was 13.2% in this series. As to the socioeconomic status, the education level, the style of living and the duration of diabetes, there were not ascertainable differences between the DKA cases and other diabetic cases. The prospective epidemiological study of diabetic population in Korea, especially in female group, would be necessary for elucidation of the characteristics of DKA in Koreans such as the female predominance and the seasonal difference of the occurrence.

Objectives: Leiomyosarcoma is a malignant neoplasm that affects smooth muscle tissue and it is very rare in the field of oral and maxillofcial surgery. The purpose of this study was to obtain information on diagnosis of and treatment methods for leiomyosarcoma by retrospectively reviewing of the cases. Patients and Methods: The study included nine patients who were diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Seoul National University Dental Hospital. The subjects were analyzed with respect to sex, age, clinical features, primary site of disease, treatment method, recurrence, and metastasis. Results: Particular clinical features included pain, edema, mouth-opening limitations, dysesthesia, and enlarged lymph nodes. All cases except one were surgically treated, and recurrence was found in two cases. Four of nine patients were followed up without recurrence and one patient underwent additional surgery due to recurrence. Conclusion: In our case series, notable symptoms included pain, edema, mouth-opening limitations, and dysesthesia; however, it was difficult to label these as specific symptoms of leiomyosarcoma. Considering the aggressive characteristics of the disease and poor prognosis, surgical treatment is necessary with careful consideration of postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The effectiveness of dental implants in patients with disability, who are non-compliant during treatment, is controversial because of their poor oral health. Thus, oral health-care and management in such patients is concerning. Moreover, limited information is available on prognosis after implant placement. Herein, we describe a patient with schizophrenia who underwent dental implantation under multiple inductions of general anesthesia (5 times) and required conservative treatment and tooth extraction for multiple dental caries and retained roots because of inadequate oral health-care. Postoperatively, fracture of the prosthodontics and progression of dental caries were observed, and with 3 additional inductions of general anesthesia, conservative treatment, implant surgery, and prosthesis implantation were conducted. Postoperative 12-month follow-up since the last prosthesis implantation showed successful results. For patients with schizophrenia, multiple implantation can reduce horizontal bone loss and achieve aesthetic results compared to treatment with removable prosthodontics and could serve as an alternative treatment modality.

Wound dehiscence is the most frequent complication after ridge augmentation and causes postoperative infection, inadequate bone healing, or graft failure. In the oral cavity, conservative treatment for dehiscence is difficult to maintain until secondary healing occurs because of its normal flora, dynamic masticatory muscle movement, and humid environment. This paper reports an effective conservative method using an oral wound dressing material with an omnivec splint and presents three wound dehiscence cases: (1) autogenous tooth bone graft material with a collagen membrane, with dehiscence occurring at postoperative 5 days. (2) Autogenous bone graft covering titanium mesh, with dehiscence occurring at postoperative three weeks. The mesh was removed after 10 weeks with histologic analysis. (3) Autogenous bone and autogenous tooth bone graft covering a titanium mesh, with dehiscence occurring at postoperative 1 week. The exposed titanium mesh was maintained for 6 months after the graft. All cases achieved secondary healing and acceptable outcomes for a dental implant by conservative treatment without infection after the dehiscence after ridge augmentation.