Maxillary unicystic ameloblastoma in a 6-week-old filly evaluated with computed tomography

A 6-week-old Thoroughbred filly was presented for evaluation of an expansile mass overlying the right nasal passage and causing respiratory stertor. On skull radiographs, there was a loculated, soft tissue-opaque mass identified dorsal to the right upper premolars and effacing the right nasal cavity. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a locally extensive mass with relatively benign characteristics located centrally on the tooth root apices of the deciduous second premolar (506). The mass extended axially into the right nasal cavity, occluding the meatuses and causing displacement of the nasal septum to the left.

Surgical excision was not deemed feasible with an athletic future in mind and the owners elected to euthanase the filly. Histopathologically, the mass was consistent with unicystic ameloblastoma and was lined intermittently with palisading, columnar basal cells (ameloblast-like cells) overlying a zone containing stellate cells in loose stroma. To the authors' knowledge this is the first report of a CT scan of an equine ameloblastoma. Although histopathology was essential for definitive diagnosis, CT clearly defined the origin of the mass and identified its locally extensive, cystic nature, which enabled informed decisions to be made.