Factors influencing the recurrence of keratocysts: monocentric study

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to retrospectively analyse the recurrence rate of odontogenic keratocysts and to identify eventual features of the lesions that may influence recurrence. Material and methods: This was a retrospective study carried out for a period of 3 years. The medical records of patients treated in our institution were analysed to identify all the cases of odontogenic keratocysts. Results: A total of 16 odontogenic keratocysts were recorded. These lesions were treated with simple enucleation with or without adjuvant Carnoy's solution. The relapse occurred in 4 patients treated with simple enucleation and in none of the patients that underwent enucleation and Carnoy's solution application. The kind of treatment appeared not to influence recurrence rate at statistical analysis. Conclusions: Odontogenic keratocyst is a lesion with a locally aggressive behavior and a high tendency to relapse. This tendency of recurrence may be greater with syndromic presentation of odontogenic keratocyst, with soft tissue involvement, and with teeth proximity to the lesion. The application of Carnoy's solution may be useful to minimize recurrence rate in those odontogenic keratocysts with an aggressive clinical behavior and secondly may be used for all the other lesions treated with simple enucleation that experienced relapse.