Comparative evaluation of function after surgery for cancer of the alveolobuccal complex

The current study was undertaken to assess the functional deficit after hemiresection of the mandible and to determine whether lateral segment resection with reconstruction was a functionally superior alternative in the management of patients suffering from alveolobuccal cancer.

Eighty-three patients were assigned to one of two main groups: Group I, hemiresection of the mandible (n = 47), and group II, lateral segment defects (n = 36). Functional assessment of patients included subjective evaluation of overall well-being, feeding, and cosmesis, as well as objective assessment of mastication, speech, and cosmesis. Mean scores for each of these categories were compared across groups using the Duncan Multiple Range Test with .01 confidence intervals.

Subjective assessment of overall well-being, feeding, and cosmesis did not yield statistically significant differences between groups. Objective evaluation of mastication showed significantly better function after hemiresection in dentate patients as compared with their edentulous counterparts. However, masticatory scores for hemimandibulectomy patients with intact residual dentition were not significantly different from those for patients whose lateral segmental defects had been reconstructed. Although objective cosmetic scores for reconstruction of lateral segment defects were significantly better than those for hemiresection of the mandible, most patients in the latter group accepted the resultant deformity as a consequence of their treatment and did not let it affect their routine activities.

Until functional results in patients undergoing lateral segmental resection for alveolobuccal cancer can be improved by better prosthetic techniques, hemiresection of the mandible remains a simple, safe, reliable, and cost-effective option that produces acceptable postoperative function.