Ameloblastoma surgery
Ameloblastoma Microchapters |
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Ameloblastoma surgery On the Web |
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Ameloblastoma surgery |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Surgery
- Surgery is the treatment of choice for ameloblastomas
- Because of the invasive nature of the growth, excision of normal tissue near the tumor margin is often required.
- Some have likened the disease to basal cell carcinoma (a skin cancer) in its tendency to spread to adjacent bony and sometimes soft tissues without metastasizing.
- While not a cancer that actually invades adjacent tissues, ameloblastoma is suspected to spread to adjacent areas of the jaw bone via marrow space. Thus, treatment of the disease is very much like surgical treatment of cancer. Wide margins that are clear of disease are required for a good prognosis.
- Often, treatment requires excision of entire portions of the jaw. Recurrence is common.