J Korean Assoc Maxillofac Plast Reconstr Surg.  2010 Nov;32(6):567-572.

Removal of Broken Instruments in Soft Tissue at Mandibular Area Using a Dental Mini C-arm: Case Reports

• Park SS
• Yang HJ
• Hwang SJ

Abstract

Intraoperative breakage of instruments can be occurred unexpectedly. To prevent damage of neighboring important anatomic structures and consequent complications, broken instruments should be removed as soon as possible. There have been several methods to remove broken instruments. One of them is the C-arm fluoroscopy which is commonly used for locating metal foreign bodies. However, its application for removal of broken instruments in the oral and maxillofacial area is not common. In our experiences with the removal of two broken instruments in mandibular area, the newly developed dental mini C-arm was used to find broken instrument in soft tissue, because it gives real-time in situ information for the intraoperative location. We report two cases with broken instruments, a broken dental needle in the pterygomandibular space and a broken straight bur in the mandibular angle area. They were identified and could be removed safely using a dental mini C-arm.

Keyword

Dental mini C-arm; Broken instrument

MeSH Terms

Fluoroscopy
Foreign Bodies
Needles