[Cherubism: a case followed for 18 years]

Cherubism is a rare and benign bone disease affecting the bones of the face, mainly the mandible, sometimes the maxilla and exceptionally the whole skeleton. The physiopathology is briefly mentioned, especially the genetic aspect of the disease. Subsequently, we present the case of a patient suffering from cherubism, a case we have been following from the age of four and a half to the age of 22. Each step of the surgical treatment is illustrated through a wide iconography. The discussion analyses the intellectual process that leads to diagnosis. The clinical examination is fundamental, as well as the radiological check-up but the latter may not be feasible due to the young age of the patient. The definite diagnosis relies on the histological examination of the bone concerned. It will show an association of dense, abundant and highly vascularised conjunctive tissue together with giant plurinuclear cells, without any mitosis nor any cellular atypia. The other bone diseases affecting the bones of the face will have to be sought, of course, and eliminated through the clinical and radiological examinations and, above all, by the histological examination which is the basis of the definite diagnosis. The treatment of cherubism is still a controversial issue: some authors are in favour of therapeutic abstention while others support the recourse to surgery to deal with the functional and aesthetic dimensions of the disease. In conclusion, the authors insist that the diagnosis of cherubism is apparently easy. Cherubism must be envisaged in the case of a chubby-cheeked child and a sample of pathological bone should be taken in order to ascertain the diagnosis.