Rare case of lower jaw tumour treated at ICH Hospital

The patient, Ebenezer from Thiruvotriyur, approached the doctors recently with complaints of massive growth in the lower jaw. The growth continued and made it difficult for the child to eat and speak. After examining the patient, the doctors diagnosed the growth to be a case of Familial gigantiform cementoma.

Familial gigantiform cementoma is a rare benign fibrous lesion of the jaw that is characterised by extensive, well-circumscribed masses in the jaw that can cause severe facial deformity. As this form of tumour is rare, there is no uniform line of treatment for the disease.

“The patient had a history of such growth in the jaw in his mother, his aunt and grandmother but not to this extent. The tumour weighing 1.5 kg and 12.10 cm in length was removed and reconstructed using titanium plate. Only 55 such cases have been reported worldwide, while only 13 have been registered in Asia. This is the first case reported in India that was successfully managed in a government hospital. The child is now recovering well,” said Dr Muthu Kumar, head of paediatric surgery at Institute of Child Health.