A clinical study on the application of labio-mandibulotomy approach for oral and oropharyngeal tumors

Pyo, Sung Woon

Abstract

The labiomandibulotomy approch to the oral cavity and oropharygeal region was first described by Roux in 1836 and become popular for oral and oropharyngeal tumors in cases where there are no clinical and radiological signs of mandible invasion. Anterior labiomandibulotomy and swing procedure provides excellent access and facilitate a mandibular resection and subsequent repair. In last two years, 8 cases of oral and oropharyngeal tumors were treated by this approach at the Dept. of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Holy Family Hospital, Catholic University of Korea. And we analyzed postoperative complications as well as functional evaluations, and the results were as follows; In 4 cases, marginal mandibulectomy were combined with labiomandibulotomy and in case of malignancies, neck dissection was performed simultaneously. In almost case, plate and miniscrew fixation was used for osteotomy sites. Histologic evaluation of the resection margins of the specimens revealed tumor free in all cases. The postoperative complications were occured in 3 cases, one case of nonunion, one case of orocutaneous fistula, and one case of wound dehisence. Occlusal stability, jaw movement and swallowing function were acceptable postoperatively in 3 months. From above results, we concluded that, this approach not only provides wide exposure, permitting radical removal of benign and malignant lesions but also preserves function with minimal complications.