A case of osteochondroma of the mandibular condyle resected using a dismasking flap

Abstract

A dismasking flap is a skin incision technique in which a circumpalpebral incision is combined with a conventional coronal incision to establish a large surgical field on the face. We describe a patient in whom an osteochondroma arising in the mandibular condyle was resected using a dismasking flap. A 42-year-old woman with a left temporomandibular joint tumor was undergoing treatment at our hospital' s Department of Otolaryngology when she was referred to our department because of trismus. Trismus and pain exacerbated during jaw movement. The maximum mouth opening was only 20 mm. The patient gave informed consent for the temporomandibular joint tumor to be resected under general anesthesia. Surgery was performed in collaboration with the Department of Neurosurgery and of Plastic Surgery. Dismasking flap procedures were performed, and the zygomatic arch was transiently dissected to expose the tumor. The tumor was excised with the mandibular condyle. The site of mandibular condyle resection was immediately reconstructed using an artificial condyle. The histopathological diagnosis of the excised tumor was osteochondroma. As of 1 year 8 months after surgery, the patient' s range of mouth opening is 35 mm, and there has been no recurrence of the tumor.