Edward Nguyen - Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

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Springvale, VIC
Edward Nguyen - Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

Consulting in Springvale, Footscray and Docklands

Services include removal of wisdom teeth, surgical extractions, dental implants, corrective jaw surgery, oral cancer, salivary gland pathology and facial trauma

07/05/2026

The neck is an incredible and complex nexus between the head and the body. The neurovascular structures are intricate but when handled with respect, they are robust, and where oncologically sound should be preserved.

Neck dissection is a routine part of head and neck cancer management. When performing a neck dissection, node-bearing tissue is removed to stage a patient for regional spread of cancer. Depending on the final histology and whether cancer is identified within any lymph nodes, this can influence treatment algorithms such as whether the patient would require adjuvant radiotherapy and possibly chemotherapy.

Elective neck dissection has been shown to provide a survival benefit of up to 15%.

Ultimately, the goal of surgery is to provide the patient with a chance of cure, improve survival but also to preserve function and quality of life.

As you can see here, all the important structures are preserved. Ansa cervicalis contributes to swallow function. The accessory nerve contributes to shoulder movement. The facial nerve (not annotated) provides facial movement. The hypoglossal nerve (not annotated) innervates the tongue. The neck muscles are kept intact to maintain bulk, symmetry and function. The carotid artery (deep to IJV) supplies the face and majority of the cerebral flow to the brain.

Here is the left neck after a I-IV neck dissection in the management of a left lateral tongue SCC.

27/04/2026

This man had a branchial cleft cyst removed 15 years ago. Since then he’s developed recurrence with significant neck swelling and had annual which turned into 6 monthly and then 3 monthly aspirations.

One of the concerns with neck swelling in an older patient is that of malignancy, so whilst this was likely to be benign based on its history, this is always on my mind.

Branchial cleft cyst is a benign fluid-filled sac which is often associated with the 2nd branchial arch. This often correlates with a painless swelling in level 1 and 2 anterior to the SCM.

The definitive management for recurrent branchial cleft cyst is limited neck dissection. This was performed for this patient given the recurrent nature as well as the scarred tissue planes due to repeated needle aspirations. The key to minimizing recurrence like any tumour resection is to maintain the integrity of the mass without spillage. Fortunately the mass was contained and the final histology confirmed branchial cleft cyst with lymphoid hyperplasia.

The critical structures including the marginal mandibular (VII), accessory (XI) and hypoglossal (XII) nerves were preserved.

The nerve stimulator was used to confirm the facial nerve branch was intact - watch the lip twitching.

You can also see the chronic nature of this process has effaced the local anatomy. The digastric is displaced superiorly. The IJV is essentially non-existent with multiple smaller venous tributaries.

This is him 2 weeks post surgery.

07/04/2026

Happy Easter

This young lady had a class III facial discrepancy with a significant asymmetry in the mandible.

She had an unfavorable occlusion leading to uneven wear and functional limitations. She was also self conscious of her chin asymmetry and prognathic mandible.

She underwent a bimaxillary osteotomy with the use of custom plates to optimize surgical accuracy, minimize operative time and ultimately improve patient outcomes.

A couple of intraoperative videos and photos for the keen few. You can also note the nicely locked in occlusion on the table.

This is her post deband, 6 months after surgery with a class I occlusion, increased incisal show, facial balance, improved nasal breathing and full sensation of the sensory nerves to her face.

31/12/2025

Wishing you all a Happy New Year 2026.

2025 was an incredibly rewarding year professionally, being able to do what I love and share some of the cases with you.

This was one of my favourite tumour cases to manage from resection to reconstruction.

This young lady had a multilocular radiolucency of the right angle of mandible. It was associated with an unerupted wisdom tooth and was causing bony expansion and cortical erosion.

Incisional biopsy confirmed conventional Ameloblastoma. She was worked up with a CT and we performed virtual surgical planning to facilitate an accurate resection and reconstruction.

Regarding the resection, the standard of care is a 1cm margin enbloc resection. On this occasion, my preference was to preserve the condyle for TMJ function and occlusion so the posterior margin was 7-8mm. I needed to preserve enough length of condyle for function as well as fixation screws - you can see I only used two which again isn’t textbook.

The defect was 5cm and the only soft tissue defect was the soft tissue around the biopsy site and the attached gingivae. So I chose to take an iliac crest bone graft from the hip. This avoided a free flap and as a result she was discharged within 48 hours.

This is her at 6 months. The scar will continue to fade. She has excellent facial contour, an intact facial nerve, normal mouth opening and preserved occlusion.

Given the final pathology was Ameloblastoma, there is a small risk of recurrence and long term surveillance is necessary.

21/10/2025

This young woman had a class III skeletal dentofacial discrepancy. She was unable to eat with her front teeth effectively and self conscious about her profile.

After a period of orthodontic decompensation, she underwent double jaw (bimaxillary) surgery. With the use of 3D technology, we were able to plan and execute her surgery with precision using custom plates which also reduces operative time and infection risk.

The goal is to achieve a class I occlusion that is stable and functional. It is also important to optimize facial balance and breathing.

In this case, the maxillary advancement also improved upper lip support and nasal tip projection while maintaining favorable Invisalign show. The counterclockwise movement softened her long dolicofacial profile.

At her 1 year review, she is debanded and we can see a nice balanced class I occlusion with coincident dental and facial midlines.

29/09/2025

It has certainly been a while between posts. Here is a story of a remarkably resilient patient and I’ve been fortunate to be involved in her care from start to finish line.

She had a relatively asymptomatic aggressive tumour grow in her right mandible.

The tumour extends from the right condyle ramus unit to the second premolar.

Biopsy confirmed desmoplastic fibroma. This is rare and locally aggressive with high rates of recurrence. Imaging showed a loculated intrabony lesion which eroded through the cortical bone. The anterior limit was difficult to ascertain the difference between normal and abnormal bone. Treatment of choice is en-bloc resection to minimize the risk of recurrence. As such the condyle was sacrificed along with a 2cm anterior margin.

She had a tracheostomy, access neck dissection and segmental mandibulectomy with dysarticulation of the TMJ. The missing hemi-mandible was reconstructed with fibula bone, and dental implants were placed at the same time. She had a prosthesis constructed to restore her occlusion, facial form and lip support.

I tried to minimize scarring, and as such there was a lot of traction on the facial nerve. It is improving but you can see the marginal mandibular nerve weakness. Her facial form and contour is preserved and relatively symmetrical.

An interval OPG shows good bony union at the osteotomy segments. She also needs the 28 removed but wishes to restore it.

Given the risk of recurrence, regular surveillance will be required along with interval MRI scans. Overall despite the extensive surgery and time taken to manage this tumour, the patient has an excellent functional and aesthetic result. This is a great example of multidisciplinary care at its best.

10/11/2024

Impacted wisdom teeth.

Most surgeons are proactive about removal of impacted wisdom teeth at a younger age - to avoid food impaction and difficulties maintaining adequate oral hygiene, to prevent decay and periodontal issues of adjacent teeth, as well as cystic or tumour formation.

When patients are less than 25 years old, the risks including nerve damage are significantly lower, the recovery is often better and periodontal healing around the adjacent tooth is also better.

Although I don’t document this as much, wisdom teeth actually form the bulk of surgical practice. And most colleagues I’m sure would agree that wisdom teeth surgery can be the most challenging and humbling of surgeries at times.

This is a distoangular impacted #48. Its removal involved raising an envelope flap, buccal trough of bone removal, 3/4 sectioning the crown to allow a favourable exit path (don’t lose the purchase point), elevating the roots, saline lavage, and closure.

23/12/2022

My motto in life is to treat people the way you want to be treated - at work, this means listening to and making patients feel comfortable. Fortunately I’m surrounded by a great team who are caring and dedicated to looking after our patients and the practice. I’m grateful for the year of growth. Thank you to everyone for the support this year. Time to recharge for 2023. Happy Holidays

12/11/2021

Head and neck surgery is one of my biggest passions in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

This weekend we held the inaugural KLS Martin Head and Neck Surgery Course.

To have the opportunity to organise and work together with my colleagues and train the future of OMS was both a privilege and dream, and the highlight of my professional career.

Many thanks to our sponsors and

Also thank you Victorians for getting vaccinated so we could actually hold the course.

Thank you Felix, Roland, Ken and Adrian! Not bad for our first shot

Address

Springvale, VIC

Telephone

+61390203778

Website

http://www.edwardnguyen.com.au/

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