2010 Volume 14 Issue 3 Pages 113-116
A case of radicular cyst with actinomycosis in a 36-year-old man is described. The cyst, a well-circumscribed radiolucent lesion in the anterior region of the maxilla, was first noticed by the patient's dentist. Computed tomography indicated a cystic area with low density, which included the roots of upper lateral teeth, and revealed a root fracture of the right central incisor. The surgically-removed sample was histopathologically diagnosed as radicular cyst. In addition to usual histological findings of its cyst wall, the cyst was shown to contain actinomycotic flora, which is extremely rare. In the literature, 13 cases of actinomycosis in odontogenic cysts have been documented. Their clinicopathological features, together with those of our case, were reviewed. They involved mainly the maxilla, and the male/female ratios were almost equal. All of the cases were extirpated by conventional surgery. Although their clinical courses were mostly uneventful, bacterial infection occasionally led to aggressive and locally destructive changes.
