Strategic use of obturator prostheses for the rehabilitation of oral cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic
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COMMENTARY
Strategic use of obturator prostheses for the rehabilitation of oral cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic Thais Bianca Brandão 1,2 & Cesar Augusto Migliorati 3 & Aljomar José Vechiato-Filho 1 & Wagner Gomes Silva 1,2 Ana Carolina Prado Ribeiro 1,2 & Orlando Parise-Junior 4 & Luiz Paulo Kowalski 5,6 & Alan Roger Santos-Silva 7
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Received: 22 April 2020 / Accepted: 19 August 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract During the current pandemic scenario, maxillofacial rehabilitation specialists involved with supportive care in cancer must transform its practice to cope with COVID-19 and improve protocols that could quickly return the oral function of complex cancer patients who cannot wait for surgical complex rehabilitation. This includes the role of the maxillofacial prosthodontist for the rehabilitation of surgically treated patients with maxillary cancers by the means of filling obturator prostheses that are considered an optimal scientific-based strategy to reduce hospital stay with excellent pain control, oral function (speech, swallowing, mastication, and facial esthetics), psychologic and quality of life outcomes for the patients following intraoral cancer resection. Therefore, the aim of this commentary was to bring new lights to the strategic use of obturator prostheses for the rehabilitation of oral cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to present a protocol for managing such cases. Keywords COVID-19 . Oral cancer . Rehabilitation . Obturator prosthesis
From the initial identification of the novel coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) passing through the World Health Organization (WHO) recognition as a pandemic to the current chaotic world scenario, specialists discuss criteria for prioritizing surgical treatment for head and neck aggressive malignant tumors [1–3]. Several head and neck surgery services
* Thais Bianca Brandão [email protected] 1
Dental Oncology Service, São Paulo State Cancer Institute (ICESP-FMUSP), Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 251 - Cerqueira César, Sao Paulo 01246-000, Brazil
2
Oral Medicine Department, Hospital Sírio-Libanês, Sao Paulo, Brazil
3
College of Dentistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
4
Head and Neck Surgery Department, Hospital Sírio-Libanês, Sao Paulo, Brazil
5
Head and Neck Surgery Department, AC Camargo Cancer Center, Sao Paulo, Brazil
6
Department of Head and Neck Surgery, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil
7
Oral Diagnosis Department, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Piracicaba, Brazil
have prioritized less complex surgical procedures, avoiding longer surgical time for tumor resections and microsurgical reconstructions aiming to reduce the exposure of the patients and team members to the risk of contagion [4]. These decisions were also based on the need for reducing the period of hospitalization and on the fact that microsurgical reconstructions often require long-standing patient monitoring in intensive care units, which
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