DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the nineteen study participants. This work would not have been possible without their tremendous support and their willingness to share their stories. I commend them for the care they provided and for courageously accepting one of life's most difficult challenges. This dissertation is also dedicated to memory of my maternal grandmother, Anne Barry Sm...

This report represents the suspected familial case series of odontogenic keratocysts OKCs related to Gorlin Goltz syndrome GGS, a rare genetic disorder characterized mainly by multiple basal cell carcinomas, OKCs and other less frequent skeletal and neurological manifestations. Familial cases included grandmother's father, grandmother, father and son. Although they had all OKCs, father addition...

A woman of twenty-three had noticed for two years a gradually enlarging nodule in the medial part of the sole of the left foot. It had been intermittently tender on prolonged standing. There was no history of injury. The patient’s grandmother had two nodules in the hand. On examination there was a nodule in the plantar fascia one and three-quarter inches long and a quarter of an inch wide (Fig....

Ovarian teratomas in prepubertal females are uncommon, but familial ones are exceedingly rare. We report an ovarian teratoma in an 8-year-old girl, her mother, and her maternal grandmother. The risk of a metachronous tumor and subsequent complications (such as torsion) in the contralateral ovary remain unclear. There is no clear guidance on follow-up management of patient and family members in ...

A three year old Nigerian girl presented with features suggestive of Goldenhar syndrome. The patient presented with lacrimation in the left eye and this prompted the maternal grandmother to bring the child to the hospital. No similar occurrence in the family of the patient. Multidisciplinary approach was adopted in the care of the patient. However no significant systemic abnormality was discove...