Management of odontogenic keratocysts of the jaws: a ten-year experience with 120 consecutive lesions.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of odontogenic keratocyst (OKC) of the jaws remains controversial. The aim of this study was to report the outcome of our conservative treatment protocol for OKC. METHODS: We collected data of all OKC patients treated in the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital from 1995 to 2004. Basal cell naevus syndrome (Gorlin's syndrome) patients were excluded. Recurrence data was analysed in relation to radiographic features, type of microscopic diagnosis, presence of cortical perforation, and site of involvement. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty cysts in 109 patients were examined. OKCs were more frequent in the third and the fourth decades of life (range: 11-79 years, mean: 40 years) and in men (n=71). Most of the lesions were unilocular radiolucencies in the tooth-bearing area and in the posterior part of the mandible. Histologically, 80 lesions showed parakeratosis. Most of the patients underwent uneventful enucleation. Postoperatively, infection occurred in 4 patients, and there was no jaw fracture. Recurrence was found in 28 cysts (26%), of which 7 cysts (6%) had multiple recurrences. There was no significant association between recurrences and radiographic features, histological type, cortical perforation, or site of involvement (P>0.05). Recurrences were common in the first 5 years after the operation. The average follow-up was 86 months since the last operation (range: 18-151 months). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the retrospective nature, no control group and a relatively high recurrence rate, our study suggests that enucleation with the aid of computed tomography and adequate postoperative surveillance is a conservative treatment which yields clinically acceptable results. However, the patients must strictly adhere to close follow-ups because recurrences may have serious consequences. Our algorithm for managing OKCs and cyst-like lesions of the jaws is also presented.

Malignant non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of the jaws: a review of 16 cases.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is rarely found in the jaw. We present 16 cases and the purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical signs and symptoms. The treatment and the progression evolution are also mentioned. The diagnosis was usually difficult and was often misleading and so delays before the first bone biopsy were frequent. The therapy of this rare, diffuse, large cell lymphoma was very variable from one case to another but the majority of the patients were treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Odontogenic cysts: a clinical study of 695 cases.

The aim of this study was to analyze the files of 695 consecutive patients operated on under general anesthesia for odontogenic cysts in an adult French teaching hospital for comparison with findings in world surveys. A retrospective survey of cysts of the jaws was undertaken at the Maxillofacial department, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France. Data were retrieved from case notes, imaging, histopathology records and follow-up reports from January 1995 to January 2005. The mean age of patients was 41.8 +/- 15.8 years. There was an overall male to female ratio of 1.86:1. Mandible to maxilla ratio was 3:1. Regarding the mandible, the angle was involved in 36% of the cases, horizontal branch in 32%, parasymphysis in 18%, ramus in 11.6%, coronoid process in 1.5% and condyle in 0.9% (total = 100%). Regarding the maxilla, the canine to canine region was involved in 40% of the cases, premolar and molar region in 45%, and wisdom tooth region in 15% (total = 100%). The three most frequently diagnosed odontogenic cysts were radicular cysts (53.5%), dentigerous cysts (22.3%) and odontogenic keratocysts (19.1%). Together, these three entities represented 94.9% of all odontogenic cysts. The mean number of operation per patient was 1.16 (SD: 0.6, range: 1-10). The mean cumulated duration of hospitalization for one patient was 2.46 days (SD: 1.9, range: 1-28). The mean length of follow-up was 8.4 months (SD: 15.2, range: 0-120). Sixty five percent had a follow-up inferior to 6 months and 18% had no follow-up at all. The two most important findings of this case series are 1) the important number of radicular cysts that could be avoided because most of these cysts develop as a consequence of advanced carious lesions and 2) regarding other types of cysts, the dramatic rate of patients lost to follow-up.