Osteochondroma of the mandibular condyle: Resection and reconstruction using vertical sliding osteotomy of the mandibular ramus.

Osteochondroma is one of the most common benign bone tumours, although not in the craniofacial region. More than half of these appear in the coronoid process. It can appear on the mandibular condyle, especially in its medial half, and mainly affects women aged around forty years. We present the case of a 51-year-old woman with pain of several months' duration in the right temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and no other symptoms. Panoramic radiography showed an enlarged condyle with no subchondral cysts. Computed tomography showed a bony proliferation with benign signs and a scintigraphy revealed an increased uptake in the condyle. Due to the painful clinical symptoms, a surgical procedure using preauricular and retromandibular approaches was performed to excise the condyle. The resulting defect, which was 9 mm high, was reconstructed by means of a vertical sliding osteotomy of the mandibular ramus and two miniplates for osteosynthesis. Almost two years later, the patient is symptom-free and has a normal opening with no malocclusion or deviation in the opening pattern. We present and discuss different reconstruction options after condylectomy.