JAM77,

I feel your pain! Teeth are an important aspect in our appearance, eating function and well being, but I haven't heard of a mandibulectomy just to have Implants, but haven’t fully looked either. I heard of it being done to remove a benign or cancerous tumor, to correct ORN, after which implants may be done during or after this surgery.

I've been without all my teeth since late 2013 after rapid destruction of them after my initial radiation in 2011, and having to wait several years to have HBOT, dental care, due to continuous recurring cancers for three more years. Due to having the extractions, and prior radiation, which amounted too over 200Gy, while most get 70Gy, I developed ORN in 2014, even though I had HBOT twice (60 dives), which was treated conservatively, and finally by invasive surgery.

I had a segmental (full thickness) Mandibulectomy for ORN, with a fibula free flap, in 2016. I didn't have dental implants even though there is new bone, due to the amount of radiation I had, and being vessel depleted on my left side, so they needed my internal mammary artery and vein, and cut the chest open too. I was waiting patiently to fully heal, about a year, but then had a heart attack, so being on blood thinners, other planned reconstructive surgeries were canceled, and any implant/denture procedure at this time.

There is "Jaw in A Day Surgery" similar to what I had minus the implants, first done by my Plastic Surgeon, and their Oral Surgeons in NYC, where they put in new jaw, implants posts, teeth, in the all in one surgery, which otherwise was a multi step process, but as far as I know, it was used in benign tumors.

One of our concerns is prior radiation, and developing ORN, with any extraction, surgery, denture, etc. Your radiation oncologist should be involved with your doctors as far as treatment plan, dosage to each area, I know my doctors are cautious with me, and I don't feel like taking a risk either, and needing another jaw surgery, which btw, can take between 8-12 hours, a week in the hospital in ICU or step down, rehabilitation to regain strength and mobility (I was in a nursing home 2 months), to months of speech and swallow therapy, lip paralysis from the nerve being cut if its not grafted too or need later on for reconstruction to correct.

There is a "partial mandibulectomy" where the jaw where there nerve isn't cut, jaw bone fully cur and removed, which you may be referring too, but I'm not sure of the applicability here.

There is a doctor in miami, maybe elsewhere too now, that developed stem cells to grow jaw bone, but again, not sure if it moved on to oral radiated patients yet, and elsewhere in laboratory studies, drugs to regrow teeth.

I hope this helps.