Surgical management of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw stages II and III

Objective: The value of surgery in advanced stages of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) is still controversial. Hence, we evaluated the effect of surgical therapy in BRONJ stages II and III in combination with a standardized perioperative adjuvant treatment.

Study design: We included 39 patients who presented with BRONJ in a total of 47 locations and stages II (n = 23) and III (n = 24). All patients had exclusively received a monthly intravenous application of zoledronic acid. Surgical therapy consisted of complete removal of the necrotic jaw, accompanied by a standardized perioperative adjuvant treatment including intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis, gastric feeding, and an antimicrobiologic mouth rinsing.

Results: Overall, 35 (74.5%) of the 47 BRONJ sites were treated successfully, with success defined as complete mucosal healing of the exposed jaw (n = 24) or as relative healing when surgical therapy downscaled BRONJ II or III to asymptomatic BRONJ stage I (n = 11). Interestingly, perioperative adjuvant treatment or bisphosphonate therapy parameters showed no statistical effect on the treatment outcome.

Conclusions: The results of the present study prove the effectiveness of surgical therapy for BRONJ stage II or III.