A Clinical Audit of Histopathologically Diagnosed Ossifying Fibroma of the Jaws in a Nigerian Population

Ossifying fibroma (OF) is a benign tumor of the jaws, which belongs to the group of fibro-osseous lesions, and exhibits slowly progressive growth leading to jaw expansion with well-defined borders. To evaluate the clinical and radiological characteristics of OFs and their treatment. A 5-year retrospective study was done. The case notes of subjects were retrieved, analyzed, and evaluated. Relevant information about patients was categorized into bio-data, clinical, and radiological. The diagnosis of lesion was made histopathologically by the oral pathologist. Forty- five patients' case notes were retrieved and analyzed and the patients' age ranged from 2 to 70 years (mean 29.4 ± 16.9). Majority of the patients (55.5%; P = 0.23) were 10-29 years. There were 16 (35.6%) males and 29 (64.4%) females giving a male: female ratio of 1:1.8 (P = 0.01). The cross-sectional dimension of the tumors measured vertically and horizontally ranges from 1 cm to 420 cm (mean = 54.7 cm ± 82.9). There were 60% in the maxilla and 40% in the mandible (P = 0.014). Most of the lesions (68.9%; P = 0.01) showed patchy opacity and cotton wool appearances. Majority of the lesions were extirpated by enucleation alone (P = 0.01). The prevalence of OF among the fibro-osseous lesions was 51.0% while against other benign lesions, it was 16.0%. In conclusion, contrary to most other reports across the globe, this lesion in southeast Nigeria occurred more frequently in the maxilla than mandible.