Keiko Kanemoto

Osteomyelitis of the mandibular condyle: Report of a case

Abstract Osteomyelitis of the mandibular condyle is an uncommon disease. Because of the anatomic location of condyle, it is often not easy to obtain enough diagnostic information from plain radiography. In some cases, distinguishing osteomyelitis from malignant neoplasma is relatively difficult. The mandibular condyle is regarded as an important center of mandibular growth. Therefore, young patients, osteomyelitis involving this region may cause a restraint of mandibular development, resulting in facial asymmetry. Recently, we have encountered a case of osteomyelitis of the mandibular condyle in a 14-year-old boy. Although the source of the infection was not determined, the patient healed without sequelae after the saucerization of lesion. The extent of disease was illustrated clearly by computed tomography (CT) and three-dimensional CT.