E R Miranda | PubMed Health

PubMed1998

Low-level laser therapy is an important tool to treat disorders of the maxillofacial region.

OBJECTIVES: The authors report on the effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in the treatment of maxillofacial disorders. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND DATA: Further to our previous studies, this paper reports the results of the use of LLLT on the treatment of several disorders of the oral and maxillofacial region. This paper presents LLLT as an effective method of treating such disorders. METHODS: Two hundred and five female and 36 male patients ages between 7 and 81 years old (average 38.9 years old), suffering from disorders of the maxillofacial region, were treated with 632.8, 670, and 830 nm diode lasers at the Laser Center of the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil (UFPE). The disorders included temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, trigeminal neuralgia, muscular pain, aphatae, inflammation, and tooth hypersensitivity postoperatively and in small hemangiomas. Most treatment consisted of a series of 12 applications (twice a week) and in 15 cases a second series was applied. Patients were treated with an average dose of 1.8 J/cm2. RESULTS: One hundred fifty four out of 241 patients were asymptomatic at the end of the treatment, 50 improved considerably, and 37 were symptomatic. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm that LLLT is an effective tool and is beneficial for the treatment of many disorders of the maxillofacial region.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

[Cholecystectomy without drainage].

The authors report the results of cholecystectomies, with and without drainages performed at the Arnulfo Arias Madrid Metropolitan Medical Complex from May 1986 to May 1990. There were 150 patients in each group. The patients who were not drained (87%) were women, had fever less frequently and, on the average, for not more than 24 hours, whereas in the group with drainage more patients (54%) had fever, which lasted from one to three days. Eighty three per cent of the patients without drainage ate a regular meal within the first 24 hours after the operation and only 31% of those drained were able to do so. Forty six per cent of the patients without drainage were able to leave the hospital on the second, and 34%, on the third post operative day. Only 23% of the patients with drainage were able to leave the hospital on the third, and 35%, on the fourth post operative day. The authors conclude that drainage with cholecystectomy should be used selectively and only in patients with empyema of the gallbladder, pericholecystic abscess, perforation of the gallbladder, persisting bleeding, failure to remove the gallbladder because of severe inflammatory reaction and damage to the gallbladder bed.

Adult↗