Factors Affecting the Success of Endodontic Microsurgery: A Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Study

The purpose of this retrospective study was to verify preoperative local parameters of periapical lesions evaluated on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans as a potential prognostic factor in endodontic microsurgery (EMS). Among 89 cases, local factors (dimensions of lesion, bone destruction pattern, presence/absence of cortical bone destruction, height of buccal bone plate, apical extend of root canal filling, presence/absence of communication with anatomical cavities, type of lesion restriction) were measured on preoperative CBCT images before EMS. At least one year after surgery, the outcome of EMS was classified as a success or a failure. Ten cases (11.24%) were classified as a failure and 79 as a success (88.76%). Symptomatic lesions (OR = 0.088 (95% CI 0.011–0.731); p = 0.024), apicomarginal lesions (OR = 0.092 (0.021–0.402); p = 0.001) and an association with molar teeth (OR = 0.153 (0.032–0.732); p = 0.019) were found as negative predictive factors in the univariate analysis, whereas large apicocoronal dimension (OR = 0.664 (0.477–0.926); p = 0.016), apicomarginal lesions (OR = 0.058 (0.006–0.55); p = 0.013), and an association with molar teeth (OR = 0.047 (0.003–0.869); p = 0.04) were identified as negative predictive factors in the multivariate analysis model. Symptomatic lesions, apicomarginal lesions, lesions associated with molar teeth and large apicocoronal dimensions are significantly associated with the failure of EMS.