[Benign maxillofacial mucormycosis. Report of a case and review of the literature]

Abstract

Mucormycosis is a rare and often lethal infection caused by an opportunistic fungus of the Phycomycetes class. This microorganism is a saprophytic aerobial fungus common in nature and in oral mucosae, nose, paranasal sinus and throat. Mucormycosis has been described in various clinical forms: rhinocerebral, pulmonary, systemic, cerebral and cutaneous, always in immunodepressed patients, with rapid evolution and high rate of mortality. However, rare cases involving maxillofacial area are described in healthy patients with benign evolution and good prognosis as in a case observed at the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery of the University of Naples "Federico II".