Retrospective study of therapeutic approaches, recurrence and prevalence of cases of odontogenic keratocysts at a general hospital

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess epidemiological characteristics, treatment methods and recurrence of odontogenic keratocysts (OKC) in patients treated at a general hospital. This is a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with OKC and treated within a 6-year period. The sample consisted of 38 patients (20 women and 18 men), with mean age of 33 years and 2 months old. Of the 39 OKC lesions, the majority (56%) occurred in the ramus, angle and body of the mandible. In those cases in which decompression was performed before enucleation, the average time was 6 months and 6 days. Recurrence was observed in 8 patients (20.5%), in which 3 cases of OKC were treated with only enucleation (recurrence of 75%), 2 were treated with decompression and enucleation with peripheral ostectomy (recurrence of 9%) and 3 treated with only enucleation and peripheral ostectomy (recurrence of 43%). All patients with recurrence underwent further curettage and peripheral osteotomy, resulting in no further recurrences. Therefore, decompression followed by marginal enucleation seems to be the best therapeutic option in cases of OKC.