Maxfacts

Blood malignancy

Due to the individual personalised approach to treatment in each case we couldn’t do justice to personalised timelines.

In general, the maxillofacial component of intervention lies in diagnostic biopsy. These wounds, whether from intraoral incision or excision biopsy or excision biopsy of a lymph node in the neck will cause minimal discomfort (although intraoral wounds may become painful if secondarily infected) and heal within a week to 10 days.

Another maxillofacial component may arise over the course of chemotherapy treatment, where painful lesions of the oral mucosa (mucositis) commonly develop which may temporarily require enteral feeding. These lesions typically heal very slowly and are surprisingly often a substantial reason for limiting or changing treatment, particularly if there are treatment alternatives or the chemotherapy is with palliative intent.  

Long-term effects of radical chemotherapy in the treatment of children may include distorted growth of secondary teeth and the facial skeleton. If so, then life-long dental and restorative dental support will be required.