Synovial Chondromatosis in the Temporomandibular Joint: Report of Two Cases

Ha,  Yong-Chan; Kim,  Chul-Hwan

J Korean Dent Assoc > Volume 55(10); 2017 > Article

The Journal of The Korean Dental Association 2017;55(10):706-714.
Published online October 31, 2017.

Synovial Chondromatosis in the Temporomandibular Joint: Report of Two Cases

¹Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, Dankook University
²Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, Dankook University

Abstract

Background
Synocial chondromatosis(SC), a proliferative disorder of the synovial membrane. The etiology or cause of SC remains unclear. SC usually occurs in large articular joints such as knee, hip, elbow, and ankle. SC of the TMJ is very rare. It is a benign disease that mainly affects unilateral side. It can form cartilagenous and calcified loose bodies of various sizes and cause abnormal function of TMJ. Case Report In this paper, we report two cases of SC in the upper joint space of the left TMJ. One complained that "Sometimes the left jaw joint feels disoriented" and the other had no symptoms. CT scan and MRI showed left TMJ space widening, multiple tiny calcified mass. After clinical and radiographic analysis, we performed surgical removal of the lesion under genereal anesthesia. In the histologic examination, synovial chondromatosis was diagnosed in both patients. Conclusions We report two cases of synovial chondromatosis in the upper joint space of the left TMJ. We performed surgical removal of the lesion. The two patients showed good prognosis without recurrence or pain up to date.

Key Words: Synovial chondromatosis;Temporomandibular joint;TMJ;