Abstract
Resection of maxillary malignant tumors frequently extends from the oral cavity to the maxillary sinus and to the nasal cavity. The defects caused during resections are restored using dento-maxillary prostheses. However, in some cases, support for and stability of the prostheses cannot be achieved, leading to influx of water and food fragments into the maxillary sinus and nasal cavity. The present report describes patients in whom buccal fat pad transplantation was performed to treat oroantral and oronasal fistulas formed after partial maxillary resection. Among the patients diagnosed with maxillary gingival cancer and palatal cancer at the authors’ hospital department between May 2012 and July 2020, eight elderly patients with complicating diseases were selected as the subjects for the present study. For all eight patients, buccal fat pad transplantation was performed to treat post-resection oroantral and oronasal fistulas, with immediate closure of the fistulas postoperatively. The post-transplantation outcome showed complete closure of the fistulas in five subjects, and partial closure in three subjects. The partial dentures were stable in all subjects, and the invasiveness of the surgery was low. Therefore, this method could be useful to treat elderly people with complicating diseases.
