The use of enucleation and liquid nitrogen cryotherapy in the management of odontogenic keratocysts

Purpose: This study evaluated the use of enucleation and cryosurgery in the management of odontogenic keratocysts. Patients and Methods: This study involved a retrospective review of 26 pati ents. All of the patients received a combination of enucleation and cryosur gery. Postoperative follow-up consisted of clinical and radiographic examin ations. Results: Before enucleation and cryotherapy, 22 of the 26 patients had rece ived previous treatment consisting of enucleation alone. The average time f rom initial treatment to recurrence was 6.2 years. Twenty-three cases occur red in the mandible, 22 in the posterior (proximal to the canine), and 1 in the anterior mandible. Three cases involved the maxilla, Three of the 26 p atients (11.5%) developed a recurrence after treatment. The average time fr om treatment to recurrence in these 3 patients was 1.6 years (range, 1.2 to 1.9 years). The remaining 23 patients (88.5%) had no evidence of clinical or radiographic recurrence. The average time of follow-up was 3.5 years (ra nge, 2.0 to 10.0 years), Conclusions: Based on these results, the combination of enucleation and liq uid nitrogen cryotherapy may offer patients improved therapy in the managem ent of odontogenic keratocysts. (C) 2001 American Association of Oral and M axillofacial Surgeons.