Odontogenic myxoma of the maxilla - A rare clinical sighting

Odontogenic myxoma (OM) is a benign tumor originating from primordial mesenchymal tooth forming tissues. Myxoma is a locally invasive intraosseous neoplasm that usually occurs in tooth bearing areas of jaws. Clinically, it is a painless, slow growing, and nonmetastasizing tumor of jaw. Here, we report the case of OM in a 21-year-old male patient which had a large, expansile lesion of the left jaw extending to zygomatic, and infraorbital rim. This caused grotesque facial deformity within a short span of 6 months. However, complexity of such tumors increases as several characteristics overlap with those of other benign and some malignant tumors. The treatment plan should consider the age and sex of the patient and the site and size of the lesion. Research shows that surgical treatment of OM varies from simple enucleation and curettage to hemimaxillectomy. Recurrence rates are also reportedly high at around 25% when conservative approaches are taken. Here, wide excision of the tumor with hemimaxillectomy was planned, but further reconstructive surgery was delayed to rule out recurrence.