Author(s)

Lucas Poort, Bernd Lethaus, Roland Böckmann, Doke Buurman, Jos De Jong, Frank Hoebers, Peter Kessler

Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands Department of Oral- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Universit?tsklinikum Aachen (University Medical Centre), Aachen, Germany.
GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands Department of Radiation Oncology (Maastro Clinic), Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Introduction: Radiotherapy is often used to treat head and neck malignancies, with inevitable effects on the surrounding healthy tissues. We have reviewed the literature concerning the experimental irradiation of facial bones in animals. Materials and Methods: A PubMed search was performed to retrieve animal experiments on the irradiation of facial bones that were published between January 1992 and January 2012. The search terms were “irradiation facial bone” and “irradiation osteoradionecrosis”. Results: Thirty-six publications were included. The irradiation sources were Cobalt⁶⁰, orthovoltage, 4 - 6 megavolt photons, and brachytherapy. The total dose varied between 8 - 60 Gy in single or multiple fractions. The literature presents a broad range of animal studies that differ in terms of the in vivo model, irradiation, observation period, and evaluation of results. Discussion: The different animal models used leave many questions unanswered. A detailed and standardized description of the methodology and results would facilitate the comparability of future studies.

Irradiation, Animal Experiments, Facial Bones, Osteoradionecrosis

Poort, L. , Lethaus, B. , Böckmann, R. , Buurman, D. , Jong, J. , Hoebers, F. and Kessler, P. (2014) Experimental Studies on the Irradiation of Facial Bones in Animals: A Review. International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, 3, 113-127. doi: 10.4236/ijohns.2014.33022.