Unicystic ameloblastoma of the mandible: a long-term follow-up

This article presents the long-term results of treatment for a series of unicystic ameloblastoma of the mandible.

Twenty-one patients were seen within a 15-year period. The median age at onset of symptoms was 18 years, with a median delay before presentation of 4 years. The male/female ratio was 1.3:1. Treatment was enucleation with primary closure in 11 patients (52.4%) whose lesions were in the horizontal body of the mandible. Five patients (23.8%) had excision of the lesion and the encompassing dentoalveolar process with preservation of the lower border of the mandible. Because the disease involved the ascending ramus of the mandible in five patients (23.8%), full-thickness resection of the affected mandible was done.

There were three recurrences: Two in patients managed with enucleation and one in a patient who had resection of the lesion with preservation of the lower border of the mandible.

The findings show that unicystic ameloblastoma often can be treated successfully with less aggressive surgery than that needed for multicystic ameloblastoma.