Dr. Mark Reichman not only manages The Oral and Facial Surgery Centre, but he also division head of oral and maxillofacial surgery at both BC Children’s Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital. He has done a lot of great work for both adults and children facing a variety of different conditions.
A medical journal was recently published regarding a case involving a 7 month old infant, that Dr. Mark Reichman performed oral surgery on. This young boy was healthy, however he was brought in due to a swelling affecting the left maxillary alveolus. The swelling was noticed at 2 months of age and its continued growth caused a lot of discomfort and eventually caused difficulties when feeding, as well as a distortion in the child’s left nasal and upper lip.
A series of tests and an examination was performed, followed by surgery. It was discovered that the swelling was formed due to a melanotic neuroectodermal tumour of infancy (MNTI), which is a rare benign pigmented tumour that most commonly presents in the first year of life. Gross examination of the tumour revealed a 2.8 cm by 1.7 cm by 1.6 cm specimen that was bilobular in outline and included some bone and pigmented soft tissue.
A surgery was performed successfully by Dr. Mark Reichman in order to remove the growth and the boys face regained it’s symmetry as seen in the before and after picture above. If this child had not been brought in and the surgery was never performed by Dr. Mark Reichman, this would have resulted in much severe consequences.
It is important for early detection and intervention in cases of MNTI, because of the rapidly destructive and invasive nature of this lesion. As pointed out in the case report, a number of known pathologic entities can present in the oral cavity of infants, but MNTI can be confirmed by its characteristic radiographic and histologic appearance. Any unusual oral findings that appear inconsistent with normal variation and reported history should be referred in a timely manner to a dental professional for assessment and definitive diagnosis.
The entire medical journal can be viewed at the following link (warning: graphic images) – http://www.jcda.ca/article/f7
