Recurrent invasive ameloblastoma of the infratemporal fossa is an uncommonly encountered phenomenon in the practice of oral and maxillofacial surgery and presents many surgical challenges for the practitioner. This case report describes a patient who underwent previous resection of a mandibular ameloblastoma with multiple recurrences. The patient was diagnosed with a recurrent ameloblastoma of the infratemporal fossa that was subsequently resected and reconstructed using an anterolateral thigh (ALT) free tissue transfer. There are few reported cases of recurrent ameloblastomas in the infratemporal fossa and none that describe surgical resection and reconstruction of such a lesion. Owing to the uniqueness of the surgical defect, an ALT flap was used to correct the temporal hollowing. There have been multiple reported cases of reconstruction of temporal hollowing defects using autogenous fat or allograft; however, none have described the use of a de-epithelialized ALT microvascular reconstruction of a temporal hollowing defect. This case report describes a unique clinical situation of surgical resection and reconstruction that resulted in a satisfactory outcome for the patient.
Copyright © 2016 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.