Hemangioendothelioma of the mandible in a newborn infant - diagnostic and treatment approach of a rare vascular tumor

Infantile hemangioendotheliomas are rare vascular tumors with predominant involvement of the soft tissues of the extremities. The occurence in the head and neck region and in particular intraoral occurence is extremely rare. The tumor is believed to be a neoplasm of borderline malignancy. We report a case of a 5-months old infant presenting with a hemangioendothelioma with extensive bony destruction of the mandible. Following surgical resection of the tumor with segmental mandibular resection primary mandibular reconstruction was performed using a rib graft being a useful compromise solution for primary mandibular reconstruction in young infants.