Oral Surgery

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania--Oral and maxillofacial surgeon Daniel Pituch, DDS, MD, chief of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh, led the surgical team that operated on Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Monday, to repair jaw and facial injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash that morning. Joining Dr. Pituch in the operating room were fellow oral and maxillofacial surgeon Mark W. Ochs, DDS, MD, chair of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department and associate dean for hospital affairs; Elias Hilal, MD, Chief of the Division of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery; and trauma surgeon Jorge Varcelotti, MD."

ROSEMONT, Illinois – Protected by stronger and better body armor, soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are sustaining fewer torso-related injuries and more devastating trauma to the head and facial area, as the insurgency increasingly uses rocket-propelled grenades (RPG-7s) in their attacks. Dr. Sabri T. Shuker, former head of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Baghdad Medical City - Iraq's largest medical facility - believes adding a face guard to military helmets would help deflect blasts, thereby reducing the number and severity of these injuries.

ROSEMONT, Illinois – Hypertension affects 20% to 30% of the adult population, and its prevalence increases with age. The risk doubles for African Americans, who are also more vulnerable to its complications. But regardless of age or race, hypertensive patients can rest assured their special needs will be met during oral and maxillofacial surgery, as explained in an article published in the January 2006 issue of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (JOMS). The article examines a new classification system and reviews treatment recommendations for hypertensive patients undergoing sedation or anesthesia.

ROSEMONT, Illinois – It's a scenario that's played out in every part of the country. Your family dentist has recommended you take your teenaged son to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon to have his third molars, or wisdom teeth, removed. Your son is not experiencing any problems with his teeth right now; what should you do? Until recently consensus among dental professionals was hard to find.

ROSEMONT, Illinois – A bone-cutting technique that drastically reduces the length of adult orthodontic treatment and biocompatible mini-devices that replace the need for open surgery are among the innovations that will be presented at a symposium on minimally invasive orthognathic surgery at the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) 87th annual meeting in Boston

ROSEMONT, Illinois – Oral and maxillofacial surgeon Deborah L. Zeitler, DDS, MS, recently treated a 16-year-old girl for facial pain. Dr. Zeitler asked the young patient a straightforward question and received a straightforward, albeit disconcerting, answer. Yes, someone had hurt her. Her father had punched her in the face with a closed fist two weeks ago.

ROSEMONT, Illinois – Sentinel node biopsy, a technique used to determine whether breast cancer or melanoma (a type of skin cancer) has spread to the lymph nodes, now shows potential in the staging of head and neck cancers, according to a study published in the August issue of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

ROSEMONT, Illinois – Third molar surgery (wisdom tooth extraction) in patients 25 years of age and older has a very low incidence of complications and minimal impact on quality of life, according to the results of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) Age-Related Third Molar Study, published in the August issue of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

ROSEMONT, Illinois – The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) applauds the bi-partisan coalition of Congressional members who have taken a stand for thousands of young patients in their home states and the U.S. who suffer from severe skeletal facial defects by introducing the "Treatment of Children's Deformities Act of 2005 (H.R. 1000/S. 1132)."

ROSEMONT, Illinois – Trauma patients with specific types of facial soft tissue injuries should have a CT (computed tomography) scan of the face as well as a standard head scan to determine the presence and severity of facial fractures, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.