Guillain-Barré syndrome : report of two rare clinical cases occurring after allergenic bone grafting in oral maxillofacial surgery

Guillaine-Barré Syndrome (GBS), also known as post-infectious polyneuropathy or acute idiopathic polyneuritis, is an infrequent disorder of the peripheral nervous system. The cause of GBS is unknown. It has been associated in the past with microbial infections, vaccinations, surgical procedures and debilitation of the patient. The classic signs of GBS occurring in the two patients being reported here are muscle weakness, motor and sensory impairment and ascending paralysis with respiratory involvement. The documented cases involved GBS syndrome following oral and maxillofacial surgery in which allogeneic-banked freeze-dried bone have been utilized along with autogenous grafting. There were no incidents of viral infection, vaccination or the other prodromal incidents involved in these cases. It is believed that the description of these two cases would be of interest in that it may stimulate the reporting of similar anecdotal occurrences by other surgeons. Both patients fully recovered from the GBS and are presently alive and well.