SPINDLE CELL CARCINOMA OF THE MAXILLARY SINUS: FROM DIAGNOSIS TO REHABILITATION

Male patient, 79 years old, denies smoking or alcoholism. He attended the appointment reporting pain and edema after a tooth extraction. At physical examination, a nodular lesion of ulcerated surface on the right upper alveolar ridge was observed, extending to the hard palate and measuring approximately 3.0 x 2.0 cm in diameter. The diagnostic hypotheses were squamous cell carcinoma, malignant neoplasm of salivary glands, and paracoccidioidomycosis. After the incisional biopsy, the histopathological analysis revealed a well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. The patient was referred for a head and neck surgery, and the treatment was maxillectomy, followed by radiotherapy. After the surgical treatment, the patient received rehabilitation with a temporary provisional obturator prosthesis, being successively replaced, until the radiotherapy was completed, which allowed the correct conformation of the healing tissues and maintained the aesthetics and local function. The patient is under a strict clinical and imaging control.