Treatment of Multi-Cystic Ameloblastoma with Marsupialization

Background: Ameloblastoma is a benign odontogenic tumor, which often shows aggressive growth and a high recurrence rate after conservative surgical treatment. Various conservative or aggressive management strategies have been suggested as treatment. Marsupialization is a conservative method that has been used in the treatment of cystic ameloblastoma. In the present case report, we present a multicystic ameloblastoma located in the right mandible and describe our use of conservative methods.
Case Report: A 17-year-old woman with a large mandibular ameloblastoma had a 2-stage operation consisting of marsupialization and subsequent curettage, enabling the preservation of the inferior mandibular border. There was no evidence of recurrence 12 months after the curettage.
Conclusions: Conservative approaches, including marsupialization and curettage, may be useful for ameloblastomas in order to avoid adverse results of radical resection, not only in the unicystic form, but also in the multicystic form.
Radical resection is a treatment frequently used to address the high recurrence rate of ameloblastomas. The treatment may be applied to the patient if it is possible to follow up ameloblastomas for a long period after the conservative treatment.

Keywords: Ameloblastoma, Jaw Neoplasms