GIANT-CELL TUMOR (OSTEOCLASTOMA) OF THE MANDIBLE - A DIAGNOSTIC DILEMMA AND A THERAPEUTIC CHALLENGE

A recurrent giant cell lesion of bone 4.5 years after initial curettag e from the mandibular body is described in a 40-year-old premenopausal female patient. Giant cell tumor is exceedingly rare in this location and histologically may be indistinguishable from giant cell reparativ e granuloma. The treatment rationale for this particular patient was e xtrapolated from the treatment of giant cell tumor in other more commo nly involved bones. En bloc resection is indicated irrespective of the grade or stage of the tumor, provided satisfactory reconstruction can be achieved. The morbidity from tumor treatment should never, in any case, exceed the morbidity from the tumor itself.