RECURRENCE OF SOFT TISSUE AMELOBLASTOMA AFTER RADICAL TREATMENT

Abstract

Introduction: Ameloblastomas are locally aggressive jaw tumors with a high propensity for recurrence and believed to originate from remnants of dental lamina or odontogenic epithelium. Radical surgery still remains the first-choice therapy. Case Report: Herein we report the case of a 69-year-old patient admitted to the University Hospital Oswaldo Cruz in Pernambuco, Brazil, exactly eight years after undergoing hemi-mandibulectomy for treatment of a multicystic ameloblastoma. The patient complained of painful, well-delimited swelling measuring about 4 cm in submucosa next to a titanium bone plate that was used for reconstruction. Computed tomographic imaging and incisional biopsy were performed. The lesion was diagnosed as a ameloblastoma. The tumor was resected and histopathological analyses showed predominance of follicular and acanthomatous ameloblastoma within a highly fibrotic area, thus completing the diagnosis of soft-tissue recurrence. Considerations: This report shows the need of monitoring ameloblastomas for a long-term period even after radical treatment. DESCRIPTORS Neoplasm Recurrence Local. Ameloblastoma. Maxillofacial surgery.