Unusual foreign bodies in the orofacial soft tissue spaces: A report of three cases

The ingestion and inhalation of foreign bodies with their associated morbidity and mortality have been widely reported in the literature. However, reports on foreign body impaction in the orofacial region are comparatively fewer. Three unusual cases of foreign body impaction into the buccal and submasseteric spaces are presented. The three patients were adults and they presented with history of painful facial swelling associated with limited mouth opening. Plain skull radiographs revealed the foreign bodies within the facial soft tissue spaces in two patients while it was not helpful in the third patient. Surgical explorations of the left buccal, left submasseteric and the right buccal spaces led to the retrieval of the foreign bodies. Prompt diagnosis and surgical removal of such foreign bodies will greatly minimize the associated complications which may include; cellulitis, facial abscess, allergic reactions, necrotizing fasciitis and osteomyelitis.Key words: Facial soft tissue infection, foreign bodies, orofacial soft tissue spaces, trismu

Awareness, knowledge and attitude on cleft lip and palate among antenatal clinic attendees of tertiary hospitals in Nigeria

Background: Adequate knowledge and awareness of cleft lip and palate (CLP) deformity may help to counter the negative beliefs and attitudes toward the condition. The objective of this study was to assess the level of awareness, knowledge and attitude of women attending antenatal clinics about CLP.Materials and Methods: A cross‑sectional descriptive study with the aid of a structured interview administered questionnaire was conducted among 200 women attending antenatal clinics in three Federal Government Teaching Hospitals in the Northern and Southwestern regions of Nigeria. The main outcome measure was the level of awareness and the mean cumulative knowledge score.Results: The mean age of the subjects was 28.9 ± 5.1 years (age range: 16‑42 years). Half of the women (50.5%) reported that they had seen or heard about CLP. The mean cumulative knowledge score was 6.9, with only 19.8% having adequate knowledge. Many respondents had neither read an article on CLP nor participated in any public enlightenment program, and 31.5% indicated that they would like to know more about the condition. Level of educational attainment had a statistically significant effect on the level of awareness and knowledge on CLP, as more educated respondents tend to be more aware and knowledgeable (P < 0.001).Conclusion: There is need for increased public enlightenment/health education to increase awareness and subsequently help develop more positive attitudes toward children with CLP. Such programs should include distribution of pamphlets on CLP at clinics, especially antenatal clinics, media campaigns on radio, TV and newspaper as well as establishment of cleft support groups by the relevant governmental and professional organizations.Key words: Antenatal clinics, awareness, cleft lip, knowledge, pregnant wome

Reconstruction of Mandibular Defects Using Nonvascularized Autogenous Bone Graft in Nigerians

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the success rate and complications of mandibular reconstruction with nonvascularized bone graft in Ile‑Ife, Nigeria. Patients and Methods: A total of 25 patients who underwent reconstruction of mandibular discontinuity defects between January 2003 and February 2012, at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile‑Ife constituted the study sample. Relevant information was retrieved from the patients’ records. This information include patients’ demographics (age and sex) as well as the type of mandibular defect, cause of the defect, type of mandibular resection done, source of the bone graft used, and the method of graft immobilization. Morbidity associated with the graft procedures were assessed by retrieving information on graft failures, length of hospital stay following surgery, rehabilitation device used and associated graft donor and recipient site complications. Result: There were 12 males and 13 females with a male:female ratio was 1:1.1. The age of the patients ranged from 13 to 73 years with a mean age for males 32.7 ± standard deviation (SD) 12.9 and for females 35.0 ± SD 17.1. Jaw defect was caused by resection for tumours and other jaw pathologies in 92% of cases. Complete symphyseal involvement defect was the most common defect recorded 11 (44%). Reconstruction with nonvascularized rib graft accounted for 68% of cases while iliac crest graft was used in 32% of the patients. Successful take of the grafts was recorded in 22 patients while three cases failed. Wound dehiscence (two patients) and postoperative wound infection (eight patients) were the most common complications recorded. Conclusion: The use of nonvascularized graft is still relevant in the reconstruction of large mandibular defects caused by surgical ablation of benign conditions in Nigerians. Precise surgical planning and execution, extended antibiotic therapy, and meticulous postoperative care contributed to the good outcome.Keywords: Mandibular defect, mandibular reconstruction, nonvascularized bone graf

Hybrid clear cell odontogenic carcinoma and ameloblastic carcinoma-report of a case

Ameloblastic carcinoma (AC) produces extensive local destruction, perforation of the cortical plate, extension into surrounding soft tissues, numerous recurrent lesions, and metastasis, usually to cervical lymph nodes. Clear cell odontogenic carcinoma (CCOC) which was previously designated clear cell odontogenic tumor also exhibits an aggressive biologic behavior and a tendency to metastasize to distant locations. Both lesions are rare. We report an odontogenic carcinoma with a dual histomorphologic feature of CCOC and AC coexisting in a single lesion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of its kind in the literature. Key words: Clear cell, Ameloblastic carcinoma, Odontogenic carcinoma, Histopatholog

Case Report: Osteolipoma of the palate: Report of a case and review of the literature

Oral lipomas, though rare, predominantly affect the buccal mucosa, tongue, and lips. The occurrence of lipomas in the palate is extremely rare. Osteolipoma is a very rare histological variant of lipoma accounting for less than 1% of all cases. Although a few cases involving the soft palate have been reported, there is only one reported case of osteolipoma of the hard palate in the English-language literature and it was a congenital osteolipoma associated with a cleft palate in a 6-year-old male child. This paper aims to describe an additional case uniquely located in the hard palate of an adult female

Antenatal determinants of oro-facial clefts in Southern Nigeria

Objectives: Cleft lip with or without cleft palate, is the most common serious congenital anomaly that affects the orofacial regions. The management and care of the cleft patient constitutes a substantial proportion of the workload of the Nigerian maxillofacial surgeon and allied specialties. Yet, there are no specific programmes targeted at this group. We believe that the findings of this study is capable of identifying useful interventions for designing programs that will lead to a reduction inthe burden of orofacial cleft in Nigeria.Methods: It was a transverse cross-sectional study that was undertaken at the Maxillofacial Units of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and the Central Hospital, Benin City respectively. The prevalence and antenatal determinants of cleft lip and palate were determined.Results: Cleft lip and palate were often encountered in clinical practice in Benin City with a prevalence of 1.35%. The results showed that orofacial clefts were commoner in females and that the combined unilateral cleft lip and palate was the commonest entity encountered amongst the cases. The following risk factors were associated with the risk of development of cleft lip and palate: Paternal age >40years, maternal age >35years, genetic/family history, low socio-economic status, alcohol consumption and indulgence in the intake of herbal medications in pregnancy.Conclusion: Public health education programmes and advocacy activities geared towards raising awareness of the identified risk factors for the development of cleft lip and or cleft palate would go a long way to obviate the occurrence and reduce the burden.Key Words: Prevalence, Antenatal determinants, orofacial clefts, Southern NigeriaAfrican Health Sciences 2010; 10(1): 31 - 39

Wild Boar Inflicted Human Injury

Interaction between human and animals has increased in recent time regarding the fight for habitats. Animal inflicted injuries are mostly associated with the soft tissue injury and facial fractures. As literature has documented, this type of injuries are most commonly seen in rural communities. This article discusses a report a case of soft tissue injury associated with mandibular fracture undisplaced cervical spine fracture and review cases reported in the literature