Paediatric and adolescent intra-bony oro-facial tumours and allied lesions in a Nigeria tertiary health facility: An 18-year retrospective analysis

ObjectiveThis study reviews the oro-facial intra-bony tumours and allied lesions in a Nigerian paediatric and adolescent population.MethodsThis was a retrospective analysis of medical records and histopathological reports of patients that presented to the Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic of our institution over an 18-year period. Records of patients’ demographics, types, duration, site, and histopathological diagnosis of the conditions including treatments and complications were obtained and analysed.ResultsA total of 153 case files of subjects, aged 6–19 years with a mean age of 14.4 ± 3.7 years were reviewed. There were 82 (53.6%) males and 71 (46.4%) females, giving male to female ratio of 1.2:1. Benign lesions accounted for 139 (90.8%) while Burkitt's lymphoma (n = 14, 9.2%) was the only malignant tumour that presented. Ossifying fibroma (n = 29, 19.0%) was the most common benign tumour. More cases of unicystic (n = 9, 5.9%) than the multicystic (n = 5, 3.5%) ameloblastoma presented. The commonest site of occurrence was the mandible (n = 91, 59.9%). The major treatment method and complication were segmental mandibular resection (n = 40, 26.1%) and facial deformity (n = 38, 32.2%), respectively. There was significant association between the types of lesion and age, gender, site and treatment received (p = 0.0000) respectively.ConclusionThe high prevalence of ossifying fibroma, polyostotic fibrous dysplasia, and unicystic rather than multicystic ameloblastoma when compared with previous studies requires further investigation.