Surgical debridement as a treatment strategy for cervicofacial actinomycosis—Literature review and case report

INTRODUCTION: Actinomycosis is a rare chronic disease caused by bacterial infection of the Actinomyces genus. Standard treatment usually involves drainage and high doses of antibiotic therapy, which takes between 6–12 weeks for complete resolution. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 57-year-old male was admitted with soft tissue infection-like inflammation of the parasymphysis region, further diagnosed as cervicofacial actinomycosis. Treatment comprised of surgical debridement associated with antibiotic therapy, which took only 4 weeks for complete healing. DISCUSSION: Although surgical debridement isn’t part of the standard treatment, it has shown to be an interesting tool for promoting quick healing and infection control. CONCLUSION: The authors reported a successfully treatment of cervicofacial actinomycosis using surgical debridement as an adjuvant therapy, promoting faster healing, reducing antibiotic therapy time, costs and risks of bacterial resistance, which must be considered as an alternative approach in similar cases.