Kazuyo Kuribayashi, Kanchu Tei and Yoichi Ohiro
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery,
Faculty of Dental Medicine and Graduate School of Dental Medicine,
Hokkaido University, Japan
Abstract
Postsurgical oromandibular defects have been restored using microvascular free flaps with high success rates. However, postsurgical functional impairments such as articulation, mastication, and swallowing have remained an issue for such patients.
Twenty-five patients with oral cancer were subjects of the study. The patients were treated with oral or oropharyngeal resection, neck dissection, and reconstructed with vascularized free flaps. Swallowing function was assessed using video-fluoroscopy at before surgery, and 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery. The oral transit time, pharyngeal transit time, and percent of bolus swallowed were measured, and the Oropharyngeal Swallow Efficiency (OPSE) was calculated. The result was that OPSE in patients with oral cancer did not recover progressively between 1 and more than 12 months postsurgically.
Then, we hypothesized that dentures could improve swallowing function in postoperative patients with oral cancer. Ten patients with mandibular reconstruction using osteocutaneous fibula free flap were included in this study.
The swallowing function of these patients was assessed using videofluoroscopy with and without dentures. For the test food, Barium paste and Barium pancake were used.
Four quantitative analyses were performed such as Numbers of chewing, Masticatory pattern, Oral transit time, Pharyngeal transit time. The results suggest that wearing denture have a significant effect on swallowing function in the patient with mandibular reconstruction.
