Traumatic neuroma following sagittal split osteotomy of the mandible.

A 16-year-old male underwent bilateral sagittal split osteotomy of the mandible to correct a mandibular deficiency. Twenty-one years later, a routine panoramic radiograph revealed a radiolucent lesion on the left side of the mandible. The lesion was biopsied. As the patient did not have symptoms and the lesion was connected to the inferior alveolar nerve, the lesion was not totally excised in order to preserve nerve function. The histological features were consistent with traumatic neuroma, and no further surgical procedure was planned.

Estimation of contact tympanic membrane temperature with a noncontact infrared thermometer.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To investigate the agreement between contact tympanic membrane (TM) and noncontact infrared ear thermometers in children. METHODS: Twenty-three children (ages .5 to 10 years) undergoing elective tympanostomy tube placement were studied. An assistant used standard technique to record temperature with an infrared ear thermometer before and after TM temperature was obtained with a bead thermistor placed against the anterior-inferior quadrant of the TM. RESULTS: Mean temperatures were not significantly different: initial IR ear, 36.66 degrees +/-.33 degrees C; TM, 36.71 degrees +/- .42 degrees C; final infrared ear, 36.57 degrees +/- .33 degrees C. The mean bias (difference between initial individual IR ear and TM temperatures) of -.05 degrees +/-.29 degrees C and the 95% limits of agreement of +.53 degrees to -.63 degrees C indicate an acceptable confidence (error range within 3.2% of average TM temperature) for use of the initial infrared ear temperature as an estimate of TM temperature. CONCLUSION: The IR ear thermometer provides an accurate estimate of TM temperature in healthy children and may accurately reflect core body temperature.