[Treatment of mandibular condylar hyperplasia in developmental age. Clinical case]

A case of hyperplasia of the mandibular condyle in a growing-up subject, observed at the Department of Maxillo-Facial Surgery of the University of Rome "La Sapienza", is described. Hyperplasia of the mandibular condyle is a facial asymmetry due to the unilateral overdevelopment of the mandibular bone. In this study the authors underline how bone scintigraphy, 3D tomography and electrognatographic analysis, associated with standard radiography and cephalometry, are important methods of diagnosis in order to make an early diagnosis of hyperplasia of the mandibular condyle and differential diagnosis with other pathologies. In particular, bone scintigraphy is a useful screening procedure to detect if the pathology is in an active phase or not. The 3D tomography is used in pre-surgery to evaluate precisely morphological and structural alterations of the craniofacial bones on a tridimentional base. Finally, the electrognatographic test records the mandibular activity both in physiological and pathological conditions. All these instrumental techniques allow to make a diagnosis and lead to a possible therapeutical approach.