Prosthetic rehabilitation in post-oncological patients: Report of two cases

Abstract

Prosthetic rehabilitation in post-oncologic patients after bone reconstruction are not substantially different than those of patients affected by severe atrophia of upper or lower jaw after bone reconstruction. Aim of this paper is to evaluate the possibilities of prosthetic rehabilitation on these patients and to present our method. Prosthesis-based oral rehabilitation of such tumor cases rapresents a challenge. The report analyses two cases of patients who underwent ablative oral surgery. Both have received a fibula free vascularised flap. The first was rehabilitated with a removable prosthesis fixed on the residual teeth, while the second with an implant supported prosthesis. In case of carcinoma resection of the oral mucosa, the removable prosthesis guarantees a simplification in dental care operations. On the other hand, irradiated mucosa is frequentely unable to tolerate the friction created by the acrylic base. However, the fixed prosthesis can limit the view during follow-up controls. In our school, according to all exposed reasons, we consider the implant supported overdenture prosthesis to be the best choice for those patients.