Superolateral Dislocation of Bilateral Intact Condyles—An Unusual Presentation: Report of a Case and Review of Literature

Abstract

Dislocation of the mandibular condyle is the clinical condition of the condyle head being displaced out of the glenoid fossa but still remaining within the joint capsule. However, the anatomy of the mandibular condyle, glenoid fossa, and zygomatic arch usually prevent the dislocation of intact condyles out of the glenoid fossa whenever the mandible is subjected to high impact. Complete dislocation of the mandibular condyle from the glenoid fossa can be classified into four groups: anterior, posterior, lateral, and superior dislocation. All the groups except anterior dislocation are rare. Superolateral dislocation of the intact mandibular condyle occurs very rarely. We report a case of lateral dislocation of bilateral intact condyles associated with left parasymphysis fracture. The purpose of this report is to review all of the available English literature on this dislocation and discuss the possible causative mechanism and diagnostic features, as well as clinical management.