Patient with Tetralogy of Fallot: Complications during Implant Placement?
Posted in advice Dental Implant Complications Surgical Placement of Dental Implants
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Subscribe to this PostDr. L. asks:
I have a male patient with Tetralogy of Fallot who has been treatment planned for implants. I know that the surgical placement of dental implants requires an antibiotic prophylaxis. I have not been able to find any literature concerning complications in patients who have this condition. Have any of you treated patients with this condition and if so, have you noted any particular complications that I might look for following surgical placement? Are there any unusual problems with osseointegration?
Editor’s Note:
Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is a congenital heart defect which is classically understood to involve four anatomical abnormalities (although only three of them are always present). It is the most common cyanotic heart defect, representing 55-70%, and the most common cause of blue baby syndrome.
I think in this case you have to consult first with the attending physician if he can undergo the implant treatment. That is suppose to be a standard operating procedure, isn’t it? A thorough understanding of what the patient’s condition is always the best thing to do before we can subject them to any surgery. Even if it is a minor implantation.
Patients suffering from this condition needs prophylactic treatment of antibiotics. If all is well, proceed!
The patients affected by the congenital deformity of the tetralogy of Fallot are categorized as those patients with their cardiac defects repaired but not necessarily, cured.As a matter of fact, they are always at the risk of complications such as the rhythm and conduction disorders. Ventricular ectopy, a common finding in fourty to fifty percent of adult patients, is the pre-eminent arrhythmia after repair of tetralogy of Fallot,in which progressive increase in the frequency and complexity occurs with advancing age which is accompanied by more need for dental implant therapy per se.Ventricular ectopy is considered a risk factor for sudden death.Regarding the effect of surgical stress and trauma on a myocardium with a very low compensating power, it seems prudent to think twice before suggesting this treatment modality to this category of patients.