Tale of Ameloblastoma – An Experience Spanning Two Decades

Despite being a benign pathology, ameloblastoma is considered to be locally-aggressive and has a high recurrence-rate. The following study describes the experience in a tertiary care hospital to manage ameloblastoma using treatment modalities based on the site of occurrence and histologic-type and to evaluate recurrence in long term.

In this 21-year-long retrospective study, 92 patients were followed-up for a minimum period of 5-years (range 5–21 years) to assess the clinical and demographic characteristics, treatment-procedure performed, and outcomes including the recurrence-rate associated with different treatment-strategies for treating ameloblastoma.

Out of 92 cases, 90 had mandibular involvement, with the most frequent site being Body (B), and Angle and Ramus (AR) region. The most prevalent histological-subtype was plexiform ameloblastoma. Five cases had mixed histopathologic-presentations in which more than one histological variant was found simultaneously. Segmental resection with reconstruction using a reconstruction plate was the most commonly employed surgical procedure for all histologic types. One case of plexiform ameloblastoma that underwent marginal resection presented with a recurrence at 189 months.

Based on the observed results, it is concluded that adequate surgical planning along with long-term follow-up may provide the desired results and reduce the rate of recurrence.