Imaging diagnosis of craniofacial giant cell reparative granuloma

Objective: To assess the imaging characteristics of giant cell reparative granuloma in the craniofacial bone. Methods: CT and MRI of 8 histologically confirmed giant cell reparative granulomas in craniofacial bones were retrospectively analyzed. Results: On preoperative CT and MRI (5), preoperative CT (2), and MRI (1) in 8 patients, the lesions involved the temporal bone, sphenoid bone, mastoid process, bony external acoustic meatus, frontal orbital bone, and mandible. CT showed expansile bony destruction, thinning of bone cortex and heterogeneous soft tissue density. MRI showed T₁ hypointensity and heterogeneous T₂ hypointensity with mild to moderate enhancement as well as non-enhanced areas of cystic degeneration and necrosis. Conclusion: CT and MRI features of giant cell reparative granuloma can aid differential diagnosis from other tumorous lesions of craniofacial bone. (authors)