ABSTRACT
Chondroblastoma is a highly destructive tumor, derived from immature cartilage cells, typically occurring in epiphyses of the long bones of adolescents and young adults. Those occurring in the temporal bone and TMJ area are likely to mimic TMJ symptoms. This report describes a unique case in which a chondroblastoma resulted in extensive destruction of the temporal bone, temporomandibular joint, mandibular condyle, and cranial base, including gross intracranial and extracranial involvement. With appropriate surgical management, the outcome for patients with chondroblastoma of the temporomandibular region is quite favorable. This case brings the total reported chondroblastomas to 59 in the temporal bone and eight in the mandibular condyle as of the date of submission of this article for publication.
Subject(s)
Chondroblastoma/pathology , Mandibular Condyle/pathology , Mandibular Neoplasms/pathology , Skull Neoplasms/pathology , Temporal Bone/pathology , Temporomandibular Joint Disorders/pathology , Adult , Cranial Fossa, Middle/pathology , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Humans , Neoplasm InvasivenessABSTRACT
Longitudinal studies of outcomes for temporomandibular disorder (TMD) treatment are rarely done and even when conducted often suffer methodological weaknesses. These may include the lack of valid outcome measures for symptom changes. This second report of a long-term multi-site study of 2104 treated, 250 untreated, and 44 long-term treated TMD patients is part of a continuing effort to study TMD treatment efficacy in a very large patient population. A validated symptom measurement system, the TMJ Scale, assured a valid and uniform assessment of treatment outcomes across a large number of practices. Data indicate that untreated TMD patients do not improve spontaneously over time and that patients treated with a variety of active modalities achieve clinically and statistically significant levels of improvement with no evidence of symptom relapse after treatment completion. The use of anterior repositioning appliance therapy produced better results than flat plane splint therapy.
