The use of nuclear medicine in the diagnosis of Paget's disease of the mandible. Report of a case.

Traditionally, incisional bone biopsy has been required in order to establish and confirm a diagnosis of Paget's disease (Osteitis deformans) of the mandible and/or maxilla. This article presents a case report of a patient who refused such biopsy. The patient was referred with a three year history of intermittent mandibular pain, accompanied by occasional swelling of the adjacent soft tissues. Although several health professionals had been consulted, no diagnosis had been established. Furthermore, an incisional biopsy had apparently been performed in the area of the left mandible, as reported by the patient, with no conclusive results. On examination, the patient refused all proposed repeat biopsy, but did agree to a full laboratory workup which included: routine blood studies; nuclear medicine bone studies of total body regions including the head and neck, followed by sialography of the submandibular salivary glands. A definitive diagnosis of Paget's disease was reported on 99-m-MDP-technetium bone scans of the mandible. The patient was subsequently treated with the appropriate medication which resulted in a remission of the disease over the three year follow-up period. The histopathological diagnosis was never confirmed because of the patient's repeated refusal to be biopsied.