Advances in 3D mandibular reconstruction, future medicine

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Among the most exciting developments in modern surgery is one that not only helps the patient’s health, but improves the quality of life in an exponential way, we are talking about jaw reconstruction surgery.

Reconstructing an area involves recreating not only the look and feel of injured or lost tissue, but also its function. Ideally, the reconstructed area should look, move, feel and feel the same way the original tissue did when it was intact.

The most common causes that should be performed are segmental deformity of the jaw after lumpectomy or destruction of the tumor without removal, chronic osteomyelitis of the jaw or jaw fracture that does not heal, or acquired congenital deformity of the jaw.

“There are many different types of operations, most of which have a full scope, from tooth removal and placement, to very complex reconstructions,” explained Dr. David Alvi, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Houston Methodist Hospital.

He added, “My passion is jaw reconstruction is that a lot of people have bite imbalance, where the lower and upper jaws don’t connect and there is asymmetry. For example, there are many people with very small chins, but the upper jaw is large or you can see People who have a very large lower jaw, but may have a very small upper jaw, so the latest technology and advances in correcting these abnormalities are helping patients tremendously.”

La cirugía tradicional suponía alrededor de 4 a 6 horas, en las cuales se rompía la mandíbula del paciente y luego usaban modelos de piedra y técnicas tridimensionales para producir la mandíbula nueva, así como alciento mucho muche de para seporjan cable the mouth. But now this is history and Dr. Alvi tells us about the surgical innovation in this field.

“What I use is 3D technology to take a picture of the scan; on a computer, I can predict where the jaw should be in exactly 3 dimensions, to see if there is symmetry, if the teeth are aligned correctly and if the face is well balanced, and on top of that we use 3D titanium printers print plates customized for that patient, and in this way, the plates will be printed to fit them perfectly.”

With this technology, “We get custom titanium plates and screws, in addition to allowing us to eliminate any weakness in the plate, we also eliminate any errors, such as the most common of placing the jaws in a position that was not exactly what we planned. For this reason, using this technology The results are very accurate, in addition to allowing us to improve in time and what we used to do in more than 4 hours, we are now doing in less than 2″.

Regarding recovery from surgery of this type and its risks, Dr. Al-Alfi commented: “They are minors and the patient generally only stays one night in the hospital, is ready to go home the next day, does not have to deliver, they can open their mouths, talk and eat right after the operation. “.

To be a candidate for this type of surgery, the patient must present “some asymmetry or the bite is forward or backward, or a weak or strong jaw”.

In addition to solving the stinging problem and patients recovering 100% of this movement naturally, Dr. El Alfi added that it also helps people with sleep apnea caused by poor jaw formation that causes the tongue to not recover. Insufficient space.

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