STUDY ON SELECTION OF METHODS OF MANDIBULAR RESECTION BASED ON EVALUATION OF THE EXTENT OF MANDIBULAR BONE INVASIN BY ORAL CANCER USING REFORMATTED DENTAL CT IMAGES

Abstract

Preoperative X-ray CT examination using a dental CT software program was perfomed for 9 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma, who underwent resection of the mandible in our clinic during the period from 1995 to 1996. Histopathological findings were compared with preoperative imaging diagnosis in 9 cases postoperatively. For the patients with bone resorption of pressure type, the range and depth of resorption shown in the X-ray pictures were almost identical with those in the dental CT images. However, in the patients with bone resorption of moth-eaten type, the range shown in the dental CT images was wider than that in the X-ray pictures. When the bone resorption was found histologically to be localized on one side of the buccal or lingual alveolar ridge, the range and depth of resorption was clearly displayed by dental CT images but not observed in X-ray pictures. The range and depth of bone resorption shown in the dental CT images were consistent with the histological observations in most of the cases.
Thus, dental CT images may provide information for range of bone resorption accurately, which is very useful in determining the method of mandibular resection.