Low-level laser therapy application for odynophagia analgesia caused by head and neck radiotherapy: an anatomic study

Publication date: January 2020Source: Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, Volume 129, Issue 1Author(s): GABRIELA PASQUALIN GHIDINI, GUILHERME HENRIQUE RIBEIRO, LILIANE JANETE GRANDO, MARIÁH LUZ LISBOA, CLÁUDIA TIEMI MITUUTI, INÊS BEATRIZ DA SILVA RATH, AIRA MARIA DOS SANTOS BONFIMRadiotherapy is an antineoplastic treatment that causes many side effects that affect the patient's physical and emotional integrity. One of the most serious effects is oral mucositis that can extend into the oropharynx and all gastrointestinal tract. The aim of the study was to develop a laser therapy protocol for reduce the odynophagia through treatment of oropharyngeal mucositis. An anatomic study and photographs were carried out on cadavers, and the cervical trigone was selected because it allows better extra-oral access for laser light to reach the oropharyngeal mucosa. Subsequently, 5 patients who already presented oropharyngeal mucositis and were treated with extraoral laser therapy at the Hospital Dentistry Service reported their experience of analgesia by interview. The carotid trigone demonstrated better laser access to the oropharyngeal region. It was established the protocol of 4 J of energy, infrared light, and 100 mW of power distributed at 4 points along the anterior margin of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. The patients reported that they felt analgesia of odynophagia after the laser therapy sessions in the established extraoral region.
Source: Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology - Category: ENT & OMF Source Type: research