A retrospective study of mandibular resections performed from 1980 to 1984 was conducted to evaluate age, sex, aetiology, etc. The number of mandibular resections appears to have declined at the Institute of Stomatology and Maxillofacial Surgery of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. Different factors are involved included early diagnosis, improved surgical techniques and better patient follow-up. Partial mandibular resections are increasingly performed (52% of the cases) compared with total resections. Finally, a better understanding of the pathologies involved, especially tumours, has led to an adaptation of the resection techniques to avoid extensive mutilations.