Closure of an Open Wound Associated with Bisphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw in a Breast Cancer Patient

Abstract

Many clinicians will not treat patients presenting with bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw following long-term use of bisphosphonates because of the lack of predictable outcomes. MATERICAL AND METHODS: The patient presented with pain from a nonhealing lesion in the posterior maxilla following extraction of the maxillary right third molar. The lesion had not responded to any conventional dental treatment. The patient had suffered from breast cancer, and her treatment included several years of therapy with Zometa (zoledronic acid), a bisphosphonate.