Background: Decompression is an approved alternative to cystectomy in the treatment of jaw cysts. This study
aimed to evaluate its effectiveness as an initial procedure, as well as factors with potential to influence outcome.
Material and Methods: the frequency of decompression was analysed, whether completed in one session or followed by enucleation at the Division of Oral Surgery and Orthodontics, Department of Dental Medicine and Oral
Health, Medical University of Graz, from 2005 to 2015. Further analysis focussed on factors potentially influencing outcome: cyst location, histopathology, means of preserving the cyst opening, cyst size, patient age.
Results: In all, 53 patients with 55 jaw cysts (mean age of 35.1) were treated by initial decompression in the
ten-year period. In the majority of cases, histopathological analysis revealed a follicular cyst (43.6%), followed
by odontogenic keratocysts (23.7%), radicular cysts (21.8%), residual cysts (7.3%) and nasopalatine cysts (3.6%)
Treatment was completed with a single decompression in 45.5% of the cases. Among those, 72.0% were follicular
cysts and 8.0% odontogenic keratocysts. Subsequent enucleation was needed in 54.5% of all cases, with a majority in the keratocystic group (36.7%). Histological findings, means of keeping the cyst open, and patient age were
found to influence the effectiveness of decompression.
Conclusions: Decompression could be performed as a procedure completed in one session or combined with
subsequent enucleation, mainly dependent on histopathological findings. Subsequent enucleation of odontogenic
keratocysts is highly recommended.
