[Eighteen cases of craniofacial fibrous dysplasia]

Fibrous dysplasia or Jaffe Lischtenstein's disease is sporadic and rare bone affection, mainly observed in young adults. It is characterized by a bone maturation disorder that can affect one or several bones. Fibrous dysplasia is relatively rare in the craniofacial region, (only 20% of all locations). The authors analyzed the epidemiological, anatomoclinical and evolutive features of fibrous dysplasia in a Tunisian population.

The authors retrospectively studied 18 cases of craniofacial fibrous dysplasia, diagnosed at the pathology department of the Sousse F. Hached hospital, beween1990 and 2005.

Most craniofacial dysplasia cases were monostotic (94% of cases). One case was polyostotic. The maxilla and the mandible were the most frequent locations (83.3%). The patients' mean age was 28.6 years, ranging from 6 to 30 years. The sex ratio was 3.5 in favor of women. Follow-up ranged from one month to 10 years with an average of 26.4 months. One case of sarcomatous transformation was observed.

The authors noted epidemiological discrepancies compared to what was usually reported, especially concerning the strong female predominance, the frequency of maxillary and mandibular locations and the predominance of monostotic presentations. Larger series are needed to validate these observations.