An unusual peripheral osteoma of the mandibular notch: a case report with computed tomography evaluation

Abstract

An osteoma, a slow-growing benign osseous neoplasm of the bone, is characterized by a proliferation of osteoblasts that form bone trabeculae in the connective tissue stroma. It is an uncommon condition that generally occurs in the maxillofacial bones. This neoplasm may be clinically silent for years without any symptoms. It is usually diagnosed when it becomes enlarged and is incidentally observed during a radiological examination. The radiographic characteristic of the lesion is a well circumscribed round or oval radiopaque mass. In this paper, we present a case of an unusual localization of a peripheral osteoma incidentally detected during radiographic examination with subsequent three-dimensional computed tomography evaluation.

Peripheral Osteoma of the Mandibular Notch: Report of a Case

“…As osteoma may be clinically silent for years without symptoms, it is usually diagnosed when it becomes enlarged or is incidentally discovered by radiological examination such as panoramic radiography or CT (8). CT (with three-dimensional reconstruction) is considered the best imaging modality both to identify the location and extent of the lesion (2, 3, 5, 8) and to determine the surgical approach (7, 8).…”

“…CT (with three-dimensional reconstruction) is considered the best imaging modality both to identify the location and extent of the lesion (2, 3, 5, 8) and to determine the surgical approach (7, 8). Treatment includes surgery or observation.…”

“…Treatment includes surgery or observation. Small, nonprogressing, asymptomatic, solitary osteomas may reasonably be observed with periodic clinical and radiological examination, although surgery should be considered for peripheral osteomas that are large, deforming, progressive, or associated with other symptoms (8). …”

“…The incidence of the mandibular notch peripheral osteoma is 1.6% among mandibular peripheral osteomas (6). To our knowledge, only three cases have been reported in the English literature (5, 8, 9). We report here an unusual peripheral osteoma of the mandibular notch.…”

“…Peripheral osteoma arises from the periosteum and is commonly a unilateral, pedunculated mushroom-like mass (2, 3, 7). Peripheral osteoma of the mandible is relatively uncommon (2, 8) and peripheral osteoma of the mandibular notch is extremely rare (5, 8, 9), although many cases arise from the mandibular body, angle, condyle or coronoid process (1, 3, 6, 10). The incidence of the mandibular notch peripheral osteoma is 1.6% among mandibular peripheral osteomas (6).…”