(A410) Dental Implantation Rates in Fibula Free Flaps at the Largest Military Training Facility

Introduction: This is a retrospective review of head and neck fibula free flaps with dental implantation completed at the Department of Defense’s largest training facility over the last 13 years. The goal of this review is to examine the rates of primary v secondary dental implantation and associated complications.

Methods: This is a single institution retrospective review of patients who underwent fibular free flap reconstruction of head and neck defects completed within the last 13 years (December 2010 - August 2023) at the Department of Defense’s largest training facility, San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium (SAUSHEC). Primary data points examined were timing of dental implantation, primary v secondary, and rates of complications associated with the dental implantation.

Results: In this retrospective review from 2010 to 2023 at SAUSHEC, 15 patients underwent 16 fibular free flap reconstruction with dental implantation. Dental implantation did not occur prior to 2017 and within those 6 years, 10 implants were completed primarily and 5 were completed secondarily. Among the documented 49 teeth that were implanted, no implants required explantation. Seven patients had minor complications associated with their implants including exposed bone and mucositis. Among the reported complications, all were from primary dental implantation patients.

Conclusions: At the Department of Defense’s largest academic facility, complication rates from dental implantation are low. These implants can be considered a safe and reliable procedure towards dental rehabilitation.