[Cherubism. Apropos of a major case].

Cherubism is a benign, hereditary giant-cell lesion located in the mandible and both maxillaries, which appears during childhood as a painless bilateral swelling, progressing until puberty and then receding spontaneously without normally requiring any treatment. In a previous publication, the authors had presented the case of three young children from the same Algerian sibship, who were eventually all operated when surgery proved to be necessary. The case published in this presentation is that of a young Italian girl presenting with a monstrous form of cherubism. In view of this malignant form, the authors decided to perform surgical treatment in several steps in order to decrease this abnormality as much as possible, considering the physical and psychological consequences reported.