THANK YOU!!!! COLLEEN AND SUE, your emails have REALLY made me feel better. i cannot stress enough the comfort in knowing there are people to talk to who truly understand! i mentioned to my mom last night finally finding this site and she was just so happy for me (and prob. relieved as she has run outta things to say at this point : ) The reconstruction options brought up are such a relief. when you go on-line its just a mass of terms, flaps and such, most of which i cannot understand (at least yet) and i don't need to yet, but it helps to know the future options. i know now that the down-playing regarding reconstruction (when i was asking the docs) was really because of the recurrence, temporary, but not forever. not sure why i didn't piece that together earlier, probably the cloud i have been in. knowing that the options are there definitely helps when i think about the long term! yes, ameloblastoma does have a recurrence rate. the doctor did not get into it yet (next visit) but from what i can gather around 24% after the surgery. i am not sure how long is considered a safe-zone to consider reconstruction (next visit) some sited 5 years, others 8 (like i said, a mass of info, could and hopefully be much less?) no chemo or radiation, we had asked about it as well, in hopes to perhaps shrink it, so much would not be lost. surgeon said that it is "basil" cell oriented and that it would not be very sucessful or responsive. many articles compare ameloblastoma to skin cancer (obviously without the cancer!) the cells they believe could have been there since infancy as they should have created tooth enamel and for whatever reason (big medical mystery to date) they didn't and lay dormant til recently. other studies suggest trauma can cause them which is even more interesting because as an infant i was actually electricuted in germany (where i was born). after of which, i had several reconstructions as a child and they did an awesome job. if that wasn't trauma to the mouth? anyhow, sat there at the time wishing the radiation, but after learning more from this site and others - grateful to say the least not necessary. also wanted to clear up this "total" maxillectomy diagnosis. apparantly, total does not mean total (but according to surgeon, over the midline they call "total") in reality, i am losing approx. 3/4 of the maxilla (a 9 tooth span and above) from the right "eye-tooth" (i think, the one to the right of the front big tooth) thru to the end of the left top line. i apologize i should have been clearer and sorry to COLLEEN who went the extra mile (you are AWESOME!) so yes, as far as the prostetic i will still have natural teeth to support it thank goodness! AGAIN, sorry about the terminology! THANKS AGAIN and look forward to learning more. the more i learn, the more i feel in control of what is about to happen and although still pretty depressing, it really helps. please too, i would really like to hear about your issues as well.... marieka