Benign fibro-osseous lesions of the jaws in children. A 12-year retrospective study.

INTRODUCTION

Fibro-osseous lesions, a diverse group of bone disorders including developmental, reactive or dysplastic diseases and neoplasms, share overlapping clinical, radiographic and histopathologic features and demonstrate a wide range of biological behaviour.

AIM

To evaluate the characteristics, treatment and outcome of benign fibro-osseous lesions of the jaws in children.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

All patients with fibro-osseous lesions of the jaws treated at the department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the «A & P Kyriakou» Children's Hospital of Athens from 2000 to 2011 were included in this study. Data were retrieved from patients' files and their present situation was registered.

RESULTS

Sixteen males and 10 females (mean age 8.5 years) were treated. Fibrous dysplasia was most often encountered (26.9%), and the mandible was the most frequent location (76.9%). All cases were surgically treated and histopathologically confirmed. Marginal ostectomy was performed in 7 cases, partial ostectomy in 4, enucleation and curettage in 10 and trimming-remodelling in 5 cases. Mean follow-up was of 5.5 years with no recurrence, except in one case of fibrous dysplasia.

CONCLUSIONS

Fibro-osseous lesions, although sharing similar microscopic features, exhibit a variety of clinical behaviour rendering their treatment highly individualized.