An alternative surgical procedure for anterosuperior dislocation of intact mandibular condyle

Abstract

Superolateral and anterolateral dislocations of the intact mandibular condyle can be easily overlooked because of their rarity among maxillofacial injuries. In this report, we present the surgery of delayed anterosuperior dislocation of intact mandibular condyle into the temporal fossa. A 17-year-old adolescent girl with anterosuperior dislocation of left intact condyle and associated mandible and zygomatic body fracture underwent surgery 33 days after trauma because of priority accompanied life-threatening intracranial and intra-abdominal injuries. Temporalis muscle shortening with soft tissue attachment prevented closed reduction of the temporomandibular joint; therefore, the temporalis muscle was divided from its insertion on coronoid in a process that, to our knowledge, has never before been described. Although good occlusion was achieved at operation, open bite deformity and laterognathism were observed at the sixth month of follow-up.