Immediate mandibular reconstruction with microsurgical fibula flap transfer following wide resection for ameloblastoma.
Ameloblastoma, the most common odontogenic tumor, is a slow growing, localized tumor of the facial skeleton. Eighty percent of the tumors affect the mandible. Treatment by wide excision is curative in 95% of cases. Reconstruction by bone grafting has a 20% to 30% nonunion rate. We have treated three large ameloblastomae (>6 cm) with fibula flaps, following resection. All patients have healed. With follow-up times of 2 to 3 years, there has been no evidence of recurrence and no difficulties with postoperative evaluation for recurrent disease. We conclude that the fibula flap is a reliable reconstructive operation following resection of large ameloblastomae.
Gerzenshtein
J
J
Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
Zhang
F
F
Caplan
J
J
Anand
V
V
Lineaweaver
W
W
D000328:Adult; D000564:Ameloblastoma / Q000601:surgery*; D001860:Bone Plates; D016025:Bone Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005360:Fibula; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000601:surgery*; D008339:Mandibular Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D008866:Microsurgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D010027:Osteotomy / Q000379:methods; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology