Osteosarcoma of the facial bones.

Maxillo-facial osteosarcoma is a rare primary tumor in adults. Between 1980 and 1990, 11 patients were considered; 6 had primary tumors in mandible and 5 in the maxillo-paranasal region. All cases were treated with surgery as the primary modality.

[Cranio-facial resections].

Four basic steps should be considered in craniofacial tumor surgery: dismantling and re-assembling of preservable bone structures to reach the tumor; en bloc resection of the "box" in malignancies (i.e., the unaffected boundaries surrounding and including the tumor), internal rigid fixation and, reconstruction by using whenever possible regional structures.