SURGICAL TREATMENT OF MEDICATION-RELATED OSTEONECROSIS OF THE JAW: TECHNICAL REPORT AND PROGNOSIS ASSESSMENT

Since the first reports concerning osteonecrosis of the jaws there has been a lot of debate about the treatment modalities: therapy of the established pathology can in fact be medical or surgical and, in the latter case, be conservative or radical. The widespread difference of clinical presentations and relative rarity of advanced stages disease at diagnosis has not yet been able to guarantee a complete standardization in the therapeutic planning phase. Although there is a well-defined staging of the pathology, the international debate is still heated about more or less invasive surgical attitudes. We collected data about ONJ in oncological patients surgically treated in our centre during the last 14 years: particular attention was paid to the variables and correlations between relapse, disease staging and treatment modalities. This is to underline the correlation between stage and type of treatment, as well as the greater possibility of relapse in the more advanced stages, in addition to its constancy in relation to the types of treatment. Finally, particular attention was paid to the timing of the relapse, generally located in the second semester of follow-up. Our clinical cases presentation, although far from statistical significance, aims to generate attention especially on this last parameter, in order to improve outpatient follow-up procedures.