Pediatric Malignant Mandibular Tumors: Personal Experience and Literature Options Discussion

Mandibular defects reconstruction could result challenging in childhood, due to facial and mandibular growth patterns. For these reasons, the choice of the most suitable reconstructive option in pediatric patients, affected by mandibular malignancies, still objects of debate.

The aim of our study was to compare our reconstructive schedules to the existing literature in order to give a personal contribute to the present panorama.

We performed, in October 2019, a retrospective evaluation of pediatric patients treated for biopsy-proven mandibular malignancies at our Institute between January 2013 and December 2016. All of them received multimodal therapy in accordance with standard guidelines and their demographic, clinical, treatment, and outcome parameters were collected and analyzed.

We observed a shorter duration of surgery, a faster tracheostomy tube and feeding-tube removal, and a minor hospitalization in patients who received grafts transfer compared to those who underwent microsurgical mandibular reconstruction. After a 36-month period of follow-up, osteochondral grafts showed a pattern of growth similar to the mandibular epiphysis (condilylion-gonion linear and vertical ratio ranging to 0.96-1.03 and 1-1.02 at orthopantomogram, respectively). No bone consolidation delays and functional impairment were recorded.

Free flaps mandibular reconstruction in children needs to be better assessed and proximal fibular epiphyseal free flap indication might deserve further studies. Osteochondral grafts find indication for lateral defects, 50-55 mm in maximum length and located in the mandibular ramus, without massive teeth or soft tissue defect. Condyle involvement does not represent an absolute contraindication to rib graft use.