Recurrent ameloblastoma?--An historic case report and a review of the literature.

A case is described in which a patient who was originally treated by radical mandibular surgery including rib grafting, having been told that she had a dentigerous cyst, presented 49 years later with a follicular ameloblastoma. The case is discussed in an attempt to determine whether the initial diagnosis could have been ameloblastoma (if so, this demonstrates a long-term recurrence), whether this is a follicular ameloblastoma arising from remnants of an original dentigerous cyst, or whether this is an ameloblastoma, developing subsequently and coincidentally from adjacent dental lamina. This report is of historical interest, not only because of the long period of time that has elapsed between initial treatment and the present ameloblastoma, but also because of the eminent surgeons involved and the advanced techniques that they so proficiently carried out in 1942-1943.