Secondary chronic osteomyelitis of the mandible: A resistant disease successfully treated with bisphosphonate therapy

Management of secondary chronic osteomyelitis (SCO) of the mandible is complex and challenging condition. Antibiotics are often first line treatment but have difficulty penetrating the infected bone and surgical intervention can be extensive, disfiguring and may not provide cure. With increasing reports of successful management of primary chronic osteomyelitis with bisphosphonate therapy, it was considered a viable last line trial medication in a refractory SCO patient for whom surgery was not appropriate. The current case is the first in the literature to report successful management of SCO with oral bisphosphonates.