Pathologic fracture of the mandible resulting from osteomyelitis: report of cases.

Two cases of pathologic fracture of the mandible resulting from chronic osteomyelitis are described. The first case was treated successfully by antibiotic therapy followed by resection of the affected bone and iliac bone grafting after six months of follow-up care. In the second case, a patient with a history of diabetes mellitus, a fracture of the condyloid process occurred because of extension of the Actinomyces infection after extraction of the third molar. Because antibiotics failed to prevent exacerbation of the disease, the patient was given human gamma globulin. Then, all the signs of inflammation disappeared gradually with no evidence of recurrence for more than a year. There was no spontaneous bony healing of the fractured site.