Equine Juvenile Mandibular Ossifying Fibroma

Abstract

Benign proliferative fibro-osseous lesions of the rostral mandible in six young horses are classified as equine juvenile mandibular ossifying fibroma. Histologically there is a characteristic abrupt transition from subgingival fibroblastic stroma to a zone of proliferating osteoblasts that form irregular spicules of osteoid. The layer of proliferating osteoblasts blends with a deeper zone of bony trabeculae rimmed by osteoblasts and separated by intertrabecular spaces of moderate cellular density. Incomplete surgical excision resulted in local recurrence, while rostral mandibulectomies resulted in no recurrence. The predilection for the rostral mandible of young horses coupled with the similar clinical, radiographic, and histological characteristics supports the classification of this lesion as a distinct entity.