Potential role of active decompression with distraction sugosteogenesis for the management of odontogenic cystic lesions: a retrospective review of 10 cases.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to describe active decompression and distraction sugosteogenesis as an alternative for the management of odontogenic cystic lesions. The technique, demographics, success rate, and complications will be presented.

Patients and methods: A retrospective case series study design was implemented. This included patients found in our database from 2015 to 2018 with a diagnosis of any odontogenic cyst, in whom active decompression with distraction sugosteogenesis was implemented. The patient's medical history, demographics, radiographic characteristics of the cyst, technique/device employed, complications, and rate of success were recorded.

Results: The sample consisted of 10 patients, with a mean age of 19.6 years (range 14-34). Sixty percent of all cases occurred in male patients and 40% in females. Forty percent of cases were consistent with odontogenic keratocysts with all cysts presenting in the mandible. No maxillary cases were documented. Seventy percent of such lesions were unilocular and 30% multilocular. Cortical fenestration/perforation was documented in 30% of cases and 1 pathologic fracture was seen. Active decompression was performed for an average of 37 days (range 30-50 days). With this system, radiographic resolution occurred in 1-3 months in 50% of cases, 6-12 months in 30% of cases, and 12 months in 20% of cases. Mean follow-up was 24.3 months. No recurrence was documented. Complications included fistula development (2 cases), flap dehiscence (1 case), and the size of the intraoral unit.

Conclusions: This investigation reviewed the authors' 5-year experience employing active decompression with distraction sugosteogenesis for the management of odontogenic cystic lesions and showed that this is a reliable alternative for the management of odontogenic cysts.