Osteoradionecrosis

Abstract

Purpose of Review

The purpose of this review is to explain the history, clinical presentation, staging, and treatment options available for osteoradionecrosis in order to aid surgeons and clinicians alike in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

Recent Findings

There has been a recent proposal by Delanian et al. as to an alternate mechanism of pathogenesis. As outlined by this theory, there are novel pharmacologic modalities that have shown promising early success in the treatment of osteoradionecrosis. There remains limited primary research on this topic.

Summary

Osteoradionecrosis remains a capricious disease process. There remains no standardized treatment protocol or universal staging system. There is an evolving role for hyperbaric oxygen, as well as treatments with pentoxifylline, tocopherol, and clodronate therapies. Aggressive surgical extirpation of devitalized tissue combined with microvascular tissue transfers continues to be the gold standard for treatment of advanced disease.

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