Marsupialization Of Jaw Lesions: Outcomes And Shrinkage Tendency

We investigated the outcomes of marsupialization of jaw cystic lesions and patterns of lesional shrinkage to determine the optimal timing for a second surgery to remove the entire lesion. We evaluated changes in the number of affected teeth before and after surgery, whether root canal treatment or extraction was performed, and lesion recurrence after the final surgery. Patterns of two-dimensional lesional size change on panoramic radiographs and three-dimensional volume change on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images over time were analyzed according to predictors. Twenty patients, 15 male and 5 female, with a mean age of 47.40 ± 11.74 years were included. After an average of 62.51 ± 31.17 weeks of marsupialization, 46.48% of the involved teeth could be out of the lesions. No damage to the anatomical structures was observed after complete removal of the lesions. The lesions were shrunk by an average of 61.78 ± 15.17% on the panoramic radiographs and 54.52 ± 17.54% on CBCT images by 24 weeks of marsupialization (P<0.05). The most significant shrinkage was observed at an average of 18.37 weeks on panoramic radiographs, with no statistical difference according to the patient’s age, initial size and volume of the lesion, pathological type, number of involved teeth, and location of the lesions. Marsupialization appears to be an effective treatment modality for preserving tooth vitality while avoiding damage to adjacent anatomical structures. Lesion shrinkage was most significant at 16 to 24 weeks after marsupialization.