REVIEW   

Minerva Stomatologica 2019 August;68(4):192-9

DOI: 10.23736/S0026-4970.19.04216-X

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Dentistry and oral and maxillofacial surgery in the patient with liver disease: key messages for clinical practice

Selvaggia BRIGO ¹, Enrico MANCUSO ², Rinaldo PELLICANO ³ ✉

¹ Bow Lane Dental Group, St George’s Hospital, Bupa Dental Care, London, UK; ² General Surgery, Peterborough City Hospital, North West Anglia Foundation Trust, Peterborough, UK; ³ Unit of Gastroenterology, Molinette - San Giovanni Antica Sede Hospital, Turin, Italy

The recent changes in terms of both epidemiology of chronic liver disease (CLD) and long-term survival of patients with CLD have had a great impact in the field of dentistry and oral and maxillofacial surgery. In this context, compared with the previous decades, today it is more probable to cure patients with CLD also at advanced stage (cirrhosis), that could remain asymptomatic for long, before the appearance of signs of decompensation. Hence, it is crucial to identify the patient with CLD and to define the stage of the latter. The main risks are the viral acquisition on the part of the operator or of the other patients, the risk of bleeding due to the impaired coagulation status or the risk of liver decompensation due to alterations in the metabolism of certain drugs leading to hepatotoxicity. Generally, it is appropriate to treat patients with CLD not yet evolved in cirrhosis or with compensated cirrhosis, in a primary care setting, whilst secondary care management should be reserved to those patients with decompensated cirrhosis (Child-Turcotte-Pugh’s grade B or C) or compensated cirrhosis but with signs of thrombocytopenia or previous episodes of decompensation. In the latter case it is mandatory to quantify the perioperative risk. In this updated review the authors describe the practical approach to the patient with CLD.

KEY WORDS: Liver diseases; Oral surgical procedures; Liver cirrhosis; Perioperative care