Marginal resection for treatment of mandibular osteomyelitis associated with osteopetrosis: Case report

Osteopetrosis (OP) is a rare hereditary disorder characterized by a dysfunction of the osteoclasts that impairs bone resorption, which together with the normal osteoblastic activity forms intense bone sclerosis with reduction of marrow. A common complication that arises, most frequently, as a result of tooth extraction is mandibular osteomyelitis. There is no consensus on the literature about the treatment of this infection in an osteopetrotic patient, therefore, the purpose of this paper is to report a case of marginal resection for treatment of mandibular osteomyelitis in an osteopetrotic patient and discuss relevant features of this procedure. © 2010 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery.