Reconstruction of the mandible after ablative surgery for the treatment of aggressive, benign odontogenic tumours in Tanzania: a preliminary study

This study presents results on 11 patients suffering from ameloblastoma who had ablative surgery followed by reconstruction of the mandible in a single operative procedure in Tanzania. The procedure included the use of autogenous particulate bone from the anterior or posterior iliac crest. In 6 of the patients, the tumour was removed from the cortical scaffold, which was then irradiated with 50 Gy. Perforations were made on the scaffold and it was then placed back to fit the defect and was held in place by custom-made titanium plates, fixed on both ends with screws. The particulate bone chips were mixed with autogenous platelet rich plasma (PRP) and Tissue Col®. In 5 of the patients, the cortical scaffold was not used but rather a mixture of bone and PRP was packed into the defect under the titanium plates.Four patients had some complications varying from fracture of the scaffolds to infection. None from the group reconstructed without scaffolds suffered any complications. A quality of life (QOL) assessment of the 7 successful cases showed that these patients were satisfied and had a good QOL.These results imply that this immediate means of reconstruction is feasible and thus, offers a big advantage to the patients.