We report a case of metastasizing ameloblastoma arising in the mandible that was treated surgically along with multiple lung metastases. The patient was an 11-year-old girl who presented with paresthesia in the region of the right mandible. She had a history of epilepsy and cataplectic scoliosis. A biopsy was performed under local anesthesia, and the pathological diagnosis was ameloblastoma. Given her young age, to preserve the mandible, we enucleated the tumor under general anesthesia; we repeated the surgery 4 times because of local recurrence.
Computed tomography performed 3 years 9 months after the biopsy depicted multiple metastases in both lungs and local recurrence in the mandible. Resection of the middle lobe (S4, S5) and S6 of the right lung, partial resection of S6 and S8 of the left lung, and resection of the mandibular tumor and immediate reconstruction with a titanium plate were performed. On the basis of the pathological similarity of the mandible and lung tumors, we diagnosed metastatic ameloblastoma of the mandible. Five years after surgical treatment, there was no evidence of tumor recurrence.
