Odontogenic Keratocyst

We got great news about Russell. You know he has Odontogenic Keratocyst. He has a major cyst. A jaw cyst and the doctor said it was very big. Because of the cyst the jaw did not grow bone and his jaw has been paper thin. He has not been able to eat any food. Well Russ went to the DDS today and they did an X-Ray. It has been about five months. The cyst is half the size it was and the bone is growing back. That is the best news we could hope for.. Russ can now eat soft food. He does not have to return to the doctor until June. When the cyst is small enough the doctor will have to go in and remove it. But the new is good. Jimmy did not get to his doctor in time. He was 20 minutes late. I told him to take his cell phone and the doctor's number and if he was going to be late to call the doctor. He took his cell phone but did not take the doctor's number. Jimmy says that he has enough medication until his next visit. I hope he does have enough medication. Dar called into my room when she got home and told me that she had KFC. I went out and she was in a good mood. She talked to me about Russell's condition and then she called the family on the telephone to tell them about Russell.

Comments

[Marilyn]

How is Russel's jaw? I have been treated for an odontogenic keratocyst since Dec. 2003. It grew as a result of a bad infection in two of my never-had-a -cavity lower incisors(the dentist saved the teeth). My dentist, though, did not follow-up and discovered the cyst only after it was 2 cm. by 1 1/2 cm. big. I didn't know it was there. The surgeon removed it, but 9 mo. later it came back. I'm now being treated by a new technique called "marsupialization", which involves poking a hole through the gum into the cyst and keeping the cyst open for a year. How, you say? Well, my surgeon used a short piece of IV tubing, sewed silk sutures into it, put the tube into the cyst, then tied it to my teeth. (The cyst is between the teeth). It was small the second time.When the cyst was "popped" it immediately stopped growing.It needs internal pressure to grow. Well, I flush the tube out morning and night with Perio Gard (Chlorhexidine Gluconate 0.12%) via a little syringe.No infection. It has been 6 weeks and the swelling is gone and parts of the cyst are coming out each time.They will x ray again in 2 weeks.It could be up to a year, but my surgeon says either the cyst will be gone, it will be a small ball of scar tissue that can be easily removed, or that the disinfectant could change the cells to a non-agressive kind of cyst. So far, so good, and the tube in my gum does not hurt and I am able to chew on the other side. I can talk fine, and the tube does not chafe my cheek. My surgeon teaches at the University of California, San Francisco, Dental Hospital, and they have had good results curing these cysts this way, and I can keep my teeth.Best wishes to Russell.