Interim prosthesis preventing tongue protrusion following mandibular alveolar ridge and lower lip resection in a surgically compromised patient.

Carcinomas of the mandibular buccogingival region being aggressive rapidly destroy the supporting bone and adjacent soft tissues, making it mandatory for the oncosurgeon to resect substantial amounts of involved hard and soft tissues. Segmental mandibulectomy -followed by immediate bony and soft tissue reconstruction is the most acceptable approach. However, immediate reconstruction may not always be feasible or possible due to high recurrences potential of lesion, inaccessible residual pathology, or systemic -conditions that pose a risk for graft inosculation. In certain cases, where large portion of lower lip also needs to be sacrificed with alveolar resection, protrusion of tongue through the defect beyond the lip confines leads to drooling of saliva, difficulty in speech and worsening of esthetic appearance, social isolation, and compromised quality of life. So, pending reconstruction and definitive rehabilitation, patients would require provisional treatment to control some of the ill effects. This article presents a simple technique for fabrication of a provisional prosthesis for preventing tongue protrusion, salivary drooling following mandibular alveolar ridge and lip resection.